Mind Your Limits- Gakuen Alice and My Hero Academia
by wOnderOus-wOrlds
Summary: Shinsou has a quirk, not an Alice, and he knows that. But, it seems the teachers of Gakuen Alice got the wrong impression. Now in the cursed school, Shinsou must survive with his wits and brains, and be the hero that he's dreamed of being. One thing's for sure, once he gets back to Aizawa, he's totally reporting this school.
1. Chapter 1:Gakuen Alice is a Weird School

For Shinsou, everything's a drag. But then again, what did you expect from the insomniac? After catching up with the hero class, and endless training, Aizawa finally decided that Shinsou was ready for some action.

So they went on a patrol. Luckily, there were not many villains walking around on this night, but only one proved to be incredibly dangerous.

"Hey, you!" Shinsou yelled at the villain.

Obviously, he didn't reply. But his split moment of hesitation gave Aizawa enough time to blink and wrap him in his capture weapon. However, it seemed as if the villain was doing something in that moment of hesitation.

A portal appeared from under Shinsou. Shinsou didn't notice at first.

_Kurogiri?_ Aizawa surely noticed the portal and prevented himself from looking around. _But it's only this one…_ He made sure that the villain was restrained well and then called the police. "Shinsou?"

Shinsou didn't reply. Once the police made it here, Aizawa noticed that he didn't reply because he was gone.

But where did he go?

* * *

Shinsou sat up with a groan. He had noticed the portal too late, and now he had no clue where he was. Sitting up, he looked around and examined the environment around him.

Something stood out. The big gate in front of him. On that gate, it said, _Gakuen Alice. _He found it a bit unnerving and instead walked away from the gate.

But then he saw someone staring at him _through _the gate. Shinsou walked a bit faster.

He heard the gate open behind him. "Hey, young man."

_If that doesn't sound suspicious, I wonder what does._ Shinsou decided not to turn around until he heard another crowd of voices.

"Hey, let go of me!" _A young girl's._

"Just get in the car," _A male, perhaps thirty or so._

Shinsou turned around and looked at what looked like to be an attempted kidnapping. "Hey, you might want to let her go."

"Let he—"

**"Let her go and never return to this place,"** Shinsou said.

The man, in a daze that was caused by Shinsou's quirk, let her go and started the car, ready to leave.

"That was amazing!" The girl turned to him, sparkles in her eyes.

She reminded him a little of Midoriya, but Midoriya wouldn't let himself get stupidly kidnapped. Shinsou replied, "Not really."

"Indeed it was," Someone said from behind them.

Mikan and Shinsou whirled around to find a tall man with blonde hair standing there. He had blue eyes and… was pretty good looking. But Shinsou didn't have enough time to stare as he broke eye contact. The air around them was beginning to smell a bit like Midnight's quirk, and Shinsou was even more unnerved.

The other girl didn't seem to notice.

"You should come to our academy," The man said to Shinsou.

"Hey, what about me?" The girl next to him interrupted, "I'm looking for my best friend Hotaru but she's in that academy!"

"Then you can come too," With the man's smile, the air around Shinsou seemed to thicken.

The gates were already open, so the two decided to—

_kaboom._

Some kid with raven black hair and a cat mask decided to break a giant hole in the gate wall.

_Well, they better hope they have a Cementoss_. Shinsou dryly thought. But then he saw the kid make a fireball in his palm.

But then was whipped.

_By the same guy that wanted to bring them into the academy._

_Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope,_ Shinsou speed-walked away, _Not today, Satan._

The magical guy was also behind him after detaining the fire-kid and tried to convince Shinsou. "You should come to our academy."

_"Why?_ Why should I go to your academy?"

"Because you have an Alice."

_Do you mean a quirk_? Shinsou didn't say that out loud. "An Alice?"

"An Alice is a superpower that no one else has."

_So it is a quirk. _"Doesn't everyone have an Alice?" He asked.

"No." The guy smiled, "I'll explain it to you _at the academy._"

_Did I travel through time? That's a possibility. It seems as in I'm in the pre-quirk era. _"_Okay,_" Shinsou replied.

"Wait, can I see Hotaru?" The girl asked.

"Only if you enroll here." The lady-man answered.

"I'm enrolling here?"

"I'll enroll here!" The girl readily exclaimed.

So all three of them, the girl, Shinsou, and the weird fire-kid went into the academy.

Walking across campus, he noticed a small water puddle. His reflection stared back at him. _Wait, I'm twelve?_? Shinsou had a good right to be confused. He was suddenly the same age as the kids he was with. _But I was sixteen a minute ago? _A random door opened, and the three kids plus the guy walked in.

"Oh, I never introduced myself, I'm Narumi-sensei!" The guy _chirped_. He laid the fire-kid on the couch, "If he wakes up, press the big red button."

"Okay," The girl and him said.

"I'll get your uniforms now." _Narumi_ left the room.

Shinsou sat on the couch awkwardly next to the girl. It was dead silence until the girl said, "What's your name? I'm Sakura Mikan!"

"I'm Shinsou Hitoshi."

"Nice to meet you Shinsou!" Mikan said.

"You too, Sakura-san."

"No wait- call me Mikan."

"Why?"

"Because we're friends now!"

"I don't think that's how that-"

"I wonder if this is for a festival." Mikan inspected the black mask that was previously on fire kid's face.

"That's not a good idea," Shinsou told her. Shinsou saw yet _another_ man behind Mikan.

"I knew it! Narumi you were the one who stole the-"

Mikan quickly turned around, "Who are you?!"

"Oh, sorry, did I scare you?" Cue two nods. "I came here because I heard Narumi was here but it seems like I found you two instead. Are you two the new Alice candidates Narumi brought?"

"Yes," Shinsou answered.

"My name is Misaki, by the way. The biology teacher. I'll be going now then."

"Bye?"

Mikan and Shinsou stayed in the same room while the door closed.

"That was weird," Mikan said. Shinsou agreed.

Mikan turned around and- "Ah, who are you? Let go of my hair!"

The fire-kid from earlier was holding onto one of Mikan's pigtails while fire sparked in his palm, he stared right at Shinsou, "If you press that button, I'll burn her hair."

Shinsou looked at him, "Who are you?"

"None of-"

"**Let go of Mikan and press the red button,"** Shinsou commanded, pointing at the red button. "**And then tell us your name and qu-Alice." **He caught his slip-up just in time.

The red button was pressed and Narumi immediately appeared.

"My name is Natsume Hyuuga and my Alice is fire," Hyuuga was clearly dazed.

Narumi opened the door, witnessing the scene. He sweatdropped and looked at Shinsou, "I see you had the situation perfectly handled."

Shinsou shrugged, "You said when he wakes up to press the button, not if he's causing trouble." Shinsou took this as his cue to let Hyuuga out of the daze. He shut off his quirk.

Hyuuga glared at Mikan and Shinsou, "What happened?"

Shinsou shrugged, "I wonder."

"Anyway, here are you uniforms," Narumi handed them each their uniforms, "Go change and then I'll show you around the school, little kittens."

_Little kittens? That's weird, _Shinsou grabbed his uniform.

"Oh, the bathrooms are to the right."

Shinsou and Mikan walked to the right side of the room, and surely enough, there were two bathrooms. They separated and went to put on their uniforms.

After they were done, they went back to the main room. The first thing Shinsou noticed is that Hyuuga wasn't there. Narumi smiled, "You two look amazing! Now follow me, we'll go to the classroom."

Mikan readily followed Narumi and Shinsou lagged a bit behind, not wanting to get caught in Narumi's Alice-like Midnight's quirk- thing.

"Hey Narumi-sensei, what's my Alice?" Mikan asked.

"We don't know yet."

"And what's Shinsou's?"

"Brainwashing."

"Mind-control." They replied simultaneously. Narumi looked at Shinsou, "Brainwashing?"

"Yes, I think I know my Alice better than you do, so I can tell you for a fact, it's brainwashing," Shinsou replied.

"That's so cool! I can't wait until I find my Alice!" Mikan said.

"I'm sure it'll be an amazing one, Mikan," Narumi smiled. "We're here." Narumi opened the classroom door and walked in.

"We have two new students." Narumi cued at them to walk into the classroom. "Introduce yourselves."

"I'm Sakura Mikan!" Mikan chirped.

"Shinsou Hitoshi." Shinsou saw Hyuuga in the back of the classroom. He seemed to be sleeping.

"So for partners, Mikan's can be Natsume." An immediate protest erupted from most of the girls in the class, especially a certain girl.

"Narumi-sensei, that's not fair!"

"And Hitoshi can be Hotaru's partner."

"Wait, Hotaru?" Mikan wildly looked around.

"Anyway, be good to them!" Narumi stepped out of the classroom.

That had Shinsou confused, _Wasn't he supposed to be watching them? _

Shinsou sat in a free desk that was surprisingly close to Hyuuga's row. Natsume seemed to have noticed him but ignored him in favor of Mikan.

"it's you!" Mikan exclaimed dramatically.

"You met Natsume?" A blond boy with a bunny asked.

Shinsou observed as the scene unfolded.

"He almost burnt my hair!"

"Maybe you were annoying him," The girl from earlier said. She had two long curled strands, and the rest of her hair was neatly cut.

"He's the annoying one! Does he not know how rude it is to grab my hair like that?" Mikan exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Natsume.

"Can you shut up?" A kid said and suddenly Mikan was floating in the air.

Another kid flew in the classroom, "Who is she?"

"What's your Alice?" The same girl from earlier asked Mikan.

"Hey, we should put her down," A boy with glasses suggested, "She didn't mean that stuff about Hyuuga-san."

"You better believe I meant it!" Mikan yells from the air.

"Stop talking about Natsume like that!" The same girl from earlier yelled at Mikan.

Shinsou groaned, _this was going to take a while._

Natsume walked to where Mikan was floating, "What's your Alice, Polka-Dots?"

"Polka-Dots?!" Mikan blushed a bright red. She was enraged, "You _pervert_!"

"'I don't know if I have an Alice'," Some kid quoted.

"You don't have an Alice? That clearly makes us superior!" The _same freakin' girl from earlier said._

"You shouldn't be here," Natsume said.

"You aren't the person who decides that!" Mikan glared at Natsume.

Shinsou glanced at the person who seemed to be holding Mikan up, "Hey can you put her down now?"

"Why should I?" The boy challenged, "Don't tell me you don't have an Alice too."

"I do, but you should put her down."

"Oh yeah? What-"

"**Put her down softly," **Shinsou ordered.

Mikan was lowered to the ground and the boy snapped out of Shinsou's quirk.

"How did you?" The boy looked alarmed.

Shinsou answered, "It's my Alice."

"Since you don't have an Alice, you should leave," A girl said.

"No, I'm staying here for Hotaru!" Mikan insisted.

Natsume's ruby red eyes were clouded with anger, "Go to the northern woods and find Bear. That's the only way we'll let you stay."

"Hyuuga-san, that's dangerous!" Someone protested. It was one of the boys that had defended Mikan.

"There's no way she would survive," The girl from earlier said.

"Watch, Permy! I will!" Mikan challenged.

Shinsou refrained from groaning at Mikan's stupidity.

"At least let me go with you," The boy with the glasses said.

"I'm coming," Hotaru volunteered.

"Permy?" The girl from earlier mentioned, "Listen here I'm Syoda Sumire!"

"Let's go together!" Mikan chirped, "Shinsou, do you want to come?"

_Should I go? Mikan should be fine with everyone else, should be. _Shinsou shrugged.

"He should stay here," Hotaru said, "He can cover for us when we're gone."

"Good idea, Hotaru!" Mikan smiled.

Hotaru rolled her eyes, "It's common knowledge that we need someone to cover for us, baka."

Shinsou merely nodded.

"Let's go, Hotaru and-?" Mikan looked towards the boy that volunteered to come with them.

"You can call me Iinchou," Iinchou said.

"Okay, let's go!" Mikan exclaimed.

The three walked out the door.

Natsume turned to face Shinsou. Dark purple eyes clashed with bright red. "What's your Alice?"

"Brainwashing," Shinsou easily answered, "But I don't see why that's any of your business."

"Trying to pick a fight with Natsume, brat?" The kid that had levitated Mikan earlier snarked.

"Drop it, Mochiage," Natsume seemingly ordered.

_Why does he have so much authority over his classmates? It seems like the class respects him more than the teachers… _Shinsou merely looked away. It was his first day, yet Shinsou already knew how tiring this _academy_ was going to be.

Author's Corner

Q: Do you like it so far?

Fun Fact #1: I had to decide the protagonist by flipping a coin with my friend a couple of times. The choices were Midoriya Izuku, Kaminari Denki, Shinsou Hitoshi, and Yaoyorozu Momo.

Note: This is my first Gakuen Alice fanfic, so any constructive criticism is much appreciated! My Hero Academia does not belong to me, it belongs to Kohei Horikoshi and Gakuen Alice belongs to Higuchi Tachibana


	2. Chapter 2: How Do I Leave?

With Mikan gone, Shinsou admits that he's maybe a little bored. But due to Mikan's absence, he could finally think about the pure absurdity of his situation. He was fighting a villain, and then suddenly got teleported? Also, _where __the hell is Aizawa__? __Is__ he okay?_

Not only that, he had finally gotten into the hero course too. But now he's back into his twelve-year-old body, in this creepy school in pre-quirk times. Shinsou sighed, _how__ do I even __leave__?_

"You can't," Someone said.

_Mindreader_, His mind supplied. "Why?" Shinsou asked.

"Because you can't, Hyuuga literally just tried to escape," The boy said.

Shinsou glanced at the said raven, "Yeah, he did." _But __the __only __reason __why__ he __didn't __succeed __is __because__ he made a __big __commotion__._

"What's your name again?" The boy that he was talking to asked.

"Shinsou Hitoshi," Shinsou replied.

"Cool, I'm Kokoroyomi. But you can call me Koko," Koko said.

"So your Alice is mindreading?" Shinsou inquired.

Koko nodded, "Yeah, and yours is brainwashing like you said earlier."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence until Natsume's voice broke everyone out of their daze.

"Where's Ruka?" Natsume's voice was stern and somewhat urgent.

Shinsou's eyes scanned the room, he didn't know who Ruka was but inferring from Natsume's attachment, he decided that it was the blonde male from earlier.

"Ruka-pyon left a while ago," The girl, Syoda reported.

"Where?" Natsume asked.

Everyone shrugged, they didn't know where Ruka was.

Shinsou heard the door slide open and shut. Hyuuga left.

* * *

Soon, Ruka, Iinchou, Hotaru, and Mikan returned. _Where's__ Hyuuga?_ Shinsou wondered. From the corner of his eye, he saw Koko shrug. Probably answering his question. Narumi came back and re-introduced Mikan to the class, saying that she had a nullification Alice.

_That's__ a __rather __useful__ Alice._ Shinsou noticed how the class calmed down a lot since her Alice situation was cleared up.

Narumi quickly left again. Shinsou rested his head on his palm. _Just __pure __coincidence __that __there's__ a __mind__ reader __sitting next to me __right __now__, __isn't __it__?_ Shinsou prevented his mind from wandering to Aizawa, or anything about Yuuei. For what he's concerned, he's traveled through time, and some of that time affected his body, making him twelve again. Or that's the explanation he came up with.

Mikan went to Shinsou, "Hey, Shinsou."

"Hi, Mikan. You know, you can call me Hitoshi since you're using your first name anyway," Shinsou replied.

"Hitoshi, you wanna hear what happened?"

"Sure."

"So basically, Hotaru, Iinchou and I all went into the Northern Woods. We tried finding Bear but we ran into this big chick first. I think it was called Piyo. So then after that—" Mikan continued the weird retelling of events.

Then, the door slid open. Natsume walked in with the same black cat mask Shinsou saw when he first arrived here on his face. The air in the classroom suddenly became thick as tension rose. Natsume quickly sat down, and seemingly ignored everyone except Ruka.

The thick tension diffused as soon as Mikan said something, which suddenly had everyone making fun of her. Mikan frowned, "Can you all stop? I'm not that dumb."

"But you're still dumb," Syoda said.

Shinsou ignored the scene as he drifted off to sleep. He didn't last long asleep, due to the class's noise, and now Mikan's sudden sulking.

"I'm a no-star?!" Mikan exclaimed, "That's not fair!"

Syoda laughed, "It's what you deserve."

Shinsou looked around, clearly confused. "What did I miss?"

"Mikan just got her star rank," Iinchou informed him.

"Star rank? What's that?"

Syoda then launched an entire explanation. "There are five ranks, no star, one star, two stars, three-star, and special star. Usually, no stars are the young ones that misbehave because of their age. I never knew there could be someone our age that has no star." Syoda laughed.

_I __wonder __what __my __star __rank __is__... _Shinsou then asked, "How do you find your star rank?"

"Oh, you visit the teachers," Iinchou replied this time, "Do you not have a star rank?"

"Not currently," Shinsou said.

"Then we should ask Narumi-sensei," Mikan somewhat recovered.

"Yeah, let's go ask Narumi-sensei."

* * *

"Narumi-sensei, what's Hitoshi's star rank?" Mikan asked.

Narumi smiled nervously, "Mikan, those things are decided by the principal."

"So we visit the principal?" Shinsou asked.

"Yes," A man intruded on the conversation. "I can lead you there."

Shinsou's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Okay."

"Mikan, we should go back to class," Iinchou said, slowly inching away from the man that intruded the conversation.

Mikan agreed. She and Iinchou left.

Shinsou felt unnerved with this man. His aura was surprisingly similar to the auras of the villain that warped him here, so he had a good reason to be cautious. "So we're going to the principal's office?"

"Yes." The man started walking away.

Shinsou hesitantly followed. The trip to the principal's office was a quiet affair, though once they got there, it suddenly wasn't so quiet.

Shinsou entered the office. He scanned his surroundings before looking at the principal. "Sir, I'm Shinsou Hitoshi and here for my star rank."

The ESP hummed, "Oh yes, your star rank. What is your Alice again?"

"Brainwashing," Shinsou answered.

"You'd make a good double star."

_I __thought __these __ranks __depended __on__ Alice control? __How__ do they __know__ I __have __such __good__ control __if__ they __haven't __seen __it __yet__? _Shinsou was getting increasingly suspicious, _Sure__, __I've __brainwashed__ a bit __since __coming __here__, __but __all __of __that __does __not __equal __fine__ control...Nonetheless, I should keep the brainwashing down to a minimum now. My quirk alone attracts enough attention._

"Your ability class is Special Ability," The ESP said.

"Special?" Shinsou asked, "Ability class?"

"Alice Ability Classes are classes we have to help students control their alices. We have a few different ability classes. Special, Latent, Somatic, and Technology." He explained, "You're in the Special class."

"Okay..."

Shinsou left.

* * *

The day passed by quickly, and now having his Star Rank, Shinsou got his own room.

Now in his own room, he was finally left with his own thoughts.

Shinsou sighed as he flopped onto his bed. _I don't __want __to __be __here__. I __want __to __be __back __in __the __dorms __with __Class__ 1-A and Class 1-B. I __want __to __be __in __hero __training__. I __want __to__ do __so __many __things__..._

His eyes scanned the room, _but__ I'm __stuck __here__. I __most __likely__ won't __be __able __to__ use __my __quirk __much__. __Using __it __that __much __was__ a mistake __in __the __first__ place. _He sighed. _How__ can I __leave__? I __already__ saw __that__ Hyuuga __kid __try __and__ fail, __although__, __maybe __if__ he __didn't __make __such__ a __commotion__, he __could've __succeeded__._

_Nonetheless__, I __should __stay __for__ a __couple __of __days __and __see __if__ I can plan __something__. I don't __know __how __good __the __security __is __here__, __or __the __teachers__' "__Alices__". I __have__ a __sneaking __suspicion __that __Narumi's__is__ a lot like __Midnight's__, __but__ I __have __yet __to __see __any__ actual perfume __leave __him__._

_I __know __my __classmates__' __alices __too__, they __might __be __able __to __help __in __the__ escape. _Shinsou thought more about that and frowned. _But __why __would__ they __help__ me? I __doubt __heroes __exist __in __this __world__. They __would __probably__ find __the__ idea __of__ a full-__quirk __or__ Alice __world __completely __laughable__. __Meaning__, I can't use __them__._

_My __quirk __seems __somewhat __the __same __but__ I can't __rely __on __it __too __much __since __it __might __have __reverted __to __twelve__-year-__old's__ me __version __of __it__._

Shinsou sighed again, looking at the ceiling. _Also__meaning__that__ I'm __going __to __have __to __train __my__ body __to __get __back __to __its__ semi-__good __condition__, __along __with __training __my __quirk __further__._

_That__ will __take__ quite a __long __time__. __The __minimum __time__ I __might __be __able __to __leave __in __might __be__ a __few __months__, __give __or __take__. I'll __probably__ plan __further__ once I __get__ more __information__._

His eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly, _The__ Principal __gave__ me a __really__ off-vibe, __and __so __did __that__ dude __that __led__ me __to __the__ office. I __should __probably __stay__ as far as I can __away __from __them__. I __should __also __be __wary __of __Kokoroyomi__. __His __quirk __or__ Alice can __prove __troubling __when __planning__. __Although__ I'm __pretty __sure__ he's a single-__star __and __those __dorms __are__ quite far __away __from __these__._

_But__ I can't __be __sure __since__ I don't __know __what __his __range __is__. __Nor __what __my __range __is __right __now __either__. _Shinsou sighed for what seemed like the 100th time that day. _It __seems__ I __got __myself __into__ quite a __crappy __situation__. I __just __need __to__ focus __on __one __thing __though__._

_How__ do I __leave__?_

**Author's Corner:**  
**Q: Am I doing okay so far?**

**RR (Review Replies):**

** izukubabe: Perhaps later on in the story. Although I'd also like to add Yaoyorozu and Hatsume meeting Hotaru. Natsume meeting Todoroki? That sounds amazing lol. And Izuku with Mikan sounds nice. GA is really similar to MHA, which is partially why I wrote this story. It surprised me how no one else wrote a crossover of the two :0. Maybe I'll have them all meet each other as an extra chapter or later on, that sounds fun! Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

** Dragon: Thank you. I'm glad that you like it. After reading your comment, I realized that you had a point. I'll attempt to add that in the story and actually have it make sense. I had the restraint idea on Shinsou for a while now, although I'll have do make him do a few things so he'll get it. I'll try to make Shinsou use his brainwashing as a last resort mostly. Thank you for reviewing and reading!**

**N: So, I've been trying to update a lot now, and since it's currently vacation time it won't be a problem! I hope you all like it so far! Thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: Ability Classes

"Ability classes? What are those?" Mikan asked, interrupting Hotaru's conversation with Iinchou.

"They're class that the Junior and Elementary division take together," Iinchou said. "You should ask Narumi-sensei for your ability class."

Mikan then quickly glances at Shinsou, who was seemingly staring into space. "Hitoshi! Do you know your Alice class?"

Shinsou snapped back into reality and replied at Mikan with a nod.

"Guess I'm going to ask Narumi-sensei about mine then."

* * *

"Ehhh?! Hotaru, you're in Technical, Iinchou's in Latent, and Ruka-pyon is in Somatic? So which class am I in, Narumi-sensei?" Mikan asked.

"You're in Special."

"Special?" Mikan smiled, "Yay! My Alice is Special!"

"Have a nice day," Narumi strangely quickly made himself scarce.

Mikan returned to the classroom, a big grin on her face. "Guys, I'm in Special Ability!"

"Oh, that's nice, Mikan," Iinchou said.

Syoda laughed, "Special Ability? Their alices are useless, well, so is yours, so I guess you belong there."

"You're so mean!" Mikan frowned but then glanced at Shinsou, "Hitoshi, what class are you in?"

"Special," Shinsou answered.

Mikan grinned, "Yay! We'll be together!"

"You should all get going to your classes," Iinchou advised.

Mikan and Shinsou left the classroom. Mikan frowned, "Why is the Special class so unpopular? Couldn't we be in a better class? Like maybe Latent—"

Shinsou shrugged, "Nonetheless, I hope the people are nice. I don't really care what class I get in."

Suddenly, the two got shoved into a bush. Mikan and Shinsou fell roughly while Natsume covered Mikan's mouth. "Shut up," He whispered.

"What's going on?" Shinsou whisper-asked, very confused.

"_That __Guy_'s looking for me nearby."

"_That __Guy__"? __Why __did__ he say __it__ like __that__? _Shinsou didn't understand the situation but stayed silent nonetheless.

Footsteps resonated around the three children, making them stiffen simultaneously and hold their breaths, trying to stay as silent as possible. The person walking, paused and looked around. His gaze lingered on the bush before muttering, "Where's the brat?" And lightly walking away.

The children let out a breath. Mikan immediately shot up, "That was so rude! How could you just do that?! We have places to be, y'k—"

Shinsou watched as Hyuuga just glanced at the sky, totally ignoring Mikan.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Mikan was outraged.

Natsume merely stared and replied, "No."

"Is that Hyuuga's girlfriend?" Shinsou heard a voice attempting to whisper.

"I think so." Another voice joined in.

Shinsou looked around and saw the owners of the voices quite a way from them. They kept on talking, however, "Hyuuga, why are you dating that no-star?"

"His girlfriend doesn't look very pretty."

Shinsou held back a laugh as he watched Mikan's face morph from anger to shock, and then from shock to disgust. But then he lightly frowned at the situation he's in, which he had no idea why he was in the situation. "That's not very nice of you."

The students merely glared at him, "Does it look like we care?"

Natsume seemed to have enough of whatever-the-heck was going on and started to walk away. He froze dead in his steps when he heard,

"It's hard to believe the _murderer_ has a girlfriend though. Who says he won't just murder her?"

_Murderer__? I'm __pretty __sure__ Natsume __isn't__ a __villain__. __Sure__ he __seems __kind __of __rude __but __there's__ no __way __he'd__ do __that__. _Shinsou hoped he was right. He stiffened when he saw a flame ignite on the other student's leg.

"What?! Get this off of me!" The student panicked. "Where's the guy?! Get the mask!"

Natsume started to walk away yet again but was stopped by something else. Shinsou was sure that Natsume wasn't the only one getting annoyed, because he was getting annoyed too. _Can't they __just __leave __us __alone__?_

"We'll give him your girlfriend if you walk away now!"

Natsume turned to look at them, "I don't care." Finally, after so many failed attempts, he walked away.

"Hey, bird-brain, why does your hair look worse than the bushes around us?" A student asked Shinsou.

Shinsou looked at him for a moment, then replied, "Wait, you were talking to me?"

"Yeah, you. What's with ya, ya deaf?"

Shinsou didn't get a chance to reply before he was cut off by another voice.

"You guys shouldn't be bullying your underclassmen," Another voice joined the conversation. The students from before suddenly froze.

Then Shinsou noticed how their shadows were darker than before, and their moves were restrained. He glanced behind them, seeing a guy with dark blue hair. _Is __this __his __qu__-Alice?_

_"You guys should__leave__," _The shadow disconnected and the students were allowed to leave. They scrambled away.

The person introduced themselves, "Hi, I'm Andō Tsubasa, but you can call me Tsubasa-senpai."

Mikan smiled, "Thank you for defending us, Tsubasa-senpai!"

"Yeah, thanks, Andō-san," Shinsou said.

"It's _Tsubasa__-senpai,_ Hitoshiiiiii!" Mikan exclaimed.

"Anyway, what class are you guys supposed to be in?" Andō asked.

"Special," The two replied.

"Oh, me too," Andō smiled, "I can lead you there."

Mikan asked, "Really? Thanks!"

"Yep, just follow me." Andō walked away with two kids following him.

They made it to the classroom and Tsubasa opened the door.

_Whack__! _A can crashed into his forehead. "What was that for?!"

"You're late!" Another voice shouted. "Why are you late-" The girl paused as she glanced at Shinsou and Mikan. "Oh, are you guys the new students?"

"Yeah!" Mikan chirped. "I'm Sakura Mikan, and this is Shinsou Hitoshi!"

The girl smiled, "I'm Misaki Harada!"

In the corner of the room, Shinsou noticed someone else. _Who're__ they? __And__ what's __their__ Alice?_

"Now that you're both here, we can throw a party!"

"A party?!" Mikan asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah! A party! Let's get started!" Misaki exclaimed.

The party had long ended, and Shinsou was staying behind, helping Misaki clean up the room. Mikan left to her dorm a while ago. Tsubasa was currently walking to the door, leaving.

Somehow the dude from earlier had slipped out while the party was going on. Shinsou was still deadly curious by what his Alice was.

"Bye, Misaki, Shinsou-kun," Tsubasa said before quietly shutting the sliding door.

Shinsou murmured a quiet, "Bye, Andō-senpai," Even though Tsubasa was already gone.

Misaki glanced at Shinsou, "Do you like it here so far?"

"It's okay," The purple-haired boy replied.

"Mikan's a really nice friend."

"Yeah, she is," Shinsou had no clue where this conversation was going. He picked up the last bits of trash left.

Misaki got her things, "I hope you'll protect her."

"Of course I will," He absent-mindedly replied, "She's my friend."

Misaki merely smiled and left.

Shinsou walked back to his room alone. The hallways were empty and felt eerily strange for a school campus. His mind was plagued by his thoughts, but something caught his eye.

It was _that __gu_y from earlier. Shinsou's eyes narrowed, _Hyuuga seems to not__ like __that __guy for whatever reason__. I __wonder __why__._

Shinsou pretended not to pay attention to him. Although the longer he stares, the more unsettled he gets. He quickly walked over to his room.

But his ear catches one last thing;

_"What an interesting__ Alice."_

Shinsou doesn't like the aura of this school.

**Author's Corner**  
**Q: What do you think of Gakuen Alice?**  
**N: I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for reading. I'm late but happy 2020!**

**RR: **

** Dragon: Sorry for not putting the interactions here so far. I wanted some more members of the Special Alice class to get introduced before Shinsou comes out with his amazing comebacks. I'll be adding them quite soon though, once I introduce everyone else :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Dodgeball

"Excuse me, we're going to a what?"

"A tea party, Hitoshi!" Mikan seemed pretty cherry. "Tsubasa-senpai invited us to a tea party in the woods!"

_"__In __the __woods__," _Shinsou sighed, "_Totally _not suspicious."

Mikan merely smiled, "Let's go, Hitoshi!"

"Coming, coming."

* * *

"You already know Hitoshi," Mikan said, "These are my friends Hotaru, and Iinchou!"

Hotaru waved while Iinchou greeted him with a "Hi."

"Hotaru, Iinchou, this is Tsubasa-senpai!" Mikan chirped, "We met in the ability class!"

"Nice to meet you, Tsubasa-senpai," Iinchou respectfully said.

"Nice to meet you too," Tsubasa said, "Now we should get sitting so the tea can be served."

Shinsou sat next to Mikan, who was next to Hotaru, who was next to Iinchou.

Then a walking bear came to serve the tea. In the corner of Shinsou's eye, he sees Mikan freaking out, _why __are__ they __so __scared __of__ a __stuffed __bear__? _

Tsubasa smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, he won't hurt you. The person who made him is my best friend."

"You're friends with his creator?"

_Isn't __that __what__ he __just __said__, Mikan? _Shinsou was wondering if Mikan even listens at this point.

Tsubasa nodded, sipping his tea.

"Hey, Tsubasa-senpai, why did you get a tattoo?" Mikan asked.

Shinsou saw how Tsubasa stiffened ever so slightly. A quick glance to his left informed him that his friends didn't notice. Nonetheless, Tsubasa _smiled _at the question, "Oh this is for punishment."

_Punishment__? _Of course, Mikan said Shinsou's thoughts aloud, "Punishment?"

Tsubasa nodded, "If you're acting up, they punish you. It's like the cat mask Hyuuga-kun had."

"So shouldn't they punish all my classmates? They're so rebellious! They're so mean too! They barely listen to Narumi-sensei and it's just really rude," Mikan ranted about how hostile the classroom was.

Shinsou and Hotaru made eye-contact, clearly thinking the same thing. _Mikan __should__ stop __complaining__._

"It's probably the jerk's fault!" Mikan suddenly said, "He must've influenced all of them badly."

Shinsou had no clue how Tsubasa knew she was talking about Natsume, and he clearly didn't ask. Tsubasa answered Mikan, "They're probably trying to draw attention away from Hyuuga-kun. You should try to befriend them to calm them down."

_But __why __are__ they __trying __to __draw __attention __away __from__ Hyuuga? __So__ he can __get __away __without __punishments__? _Shinsou's thoughts were somewhat cut off when Mikan spoke again; "But how?"

Tsubasa shrugged. "Just use your head and be happy."

Shinsou couldn't stop himself from commenting on how _useful_ that was. "What _amazing_ advice."

Tsubasa's eyes flickered to him for a moment before landing on the _I-will-__never__-stop-__talking__-_Mikan.

They chatted about a few other things before leaving.

* * *

Shinsou wanted to sleep and never wake up. _Who __the __heck __told__ Mikan __that __dodgeball __was__ a __good__ idea __to__ play __in __school__? _He sighed, _At __least__ she's __somewhat __taking__ Ando-__senpai's __advice__. _

Kokoroyomi looked towards Shinsou, "Are you going to be playing?"

Shinsou shrugged, "There's nothing else to do." _Does __the __teacher__ even __give __work __around __here__? I __haven't __seen__ a __work__sheet __in__ a __few __days__... __or __two__..._

"Who's team are you going to be on?" Kokoroyomi asked.

"Mikan's," Shinsou immediately answered, "She needs all the help she can get."

"I'm going to be on Natsume's," Kokoroyomi said, "Looks like we're on opposite teams."

Shinsou shrugged once again, "Fine with me."

Kokoroyomi smiled, "Don't expect me to take it easy on you just because you're my friend. My team will decimate yours."

Shinsou replied rather dryly, "Really? I think it's going to be vice-versa."

"You see, even Hitoshi agrees!" Mikan suddenly exclaimed. All eyes turned to Shinsou and Kokoroyomi.

_What __did__ I __just __agree __with__? _ Shinsou wasn't paying attention to Mikan's conversation, he had been too busy talking with Kokoroyomi.

"That you were going to beat us," Kokoroyomi muttered, replying to his mental question.

"Right, we will," Shinsou said.

"You really think so?" The kid—who Shinsou heard Hyuuga refer to as 'Mochiage' once— asked.

"Of course."

"Alright, bet," Some random dude spoke from the other side of the classroom, "If Hyuuga wins then Mikan's team are our slaves."

"And what if we win?" Shinsou challenged.

"No bullying!" Mikan immediately said, "If we win then there will be no bullying."

"Have fun trying to find people for your team," Syoda spat at Mikan. Rather rudely, might Shinsou add.

Most of their classmates crowded over to Hyuuga's side.

While the whole class went outside, their team got some newcomers. Two, actually. Iinchou and Hotaru were obviously on their team, but two people tagged long with Hotaru.

_Nonoko __Ogasawara__, __and__ Anna __Umenomiya__, _Shinsou doesn't know how well he can work with them, he didn't even know they existed before today. "Nice to meet you," Everyone referred to each other with their first names, although Shinsou found that a bit weird. He decided to join the trend just to blend in, "I'm Hitoshi."

Nonoko smiled brightly, "I look forward to working with you."

"Sam—"

"Why is Ruka on their team?"

Shinsou sighed, just when he thought it might be a bit peaceful, but _clearly_ this class thinks _otherwise__._

"It's fine, Natsume," Ruka reassured him. Ruka looked at Mikan's team, which was very little compared to the barrage of students on Natsume's side, and said, "I'm on your team."

"Okay," Mikan replied, "Let's start!"

Immediately, someone Hitoshi didn't know was knocked out. He didn't even know who threw the ball, and he didn't want to find out.

* * *

It was about ten minutes into the game, and Hitoshi admits that he's having fun. Their team is doing well due to the little people they have. Natsume's team practically backfired, having so many people on the court that it was difficult to dodge anywhere.

Better believe Hitoshi exploited that. He knocked out people left and right, easily avoiding the volleyball. _Wait__, __what __the__—_

The ball _magically_ slammed onto Nonoko's fingers, making her briefly cry in pain. "Ow!"

Hitoshi immediately went to Nonoko before comprehending that he moved, "Hey, are you okay?"

"My fingers really hurt," Nonoko said.

"Can you bend them?"

"Only slightly, but it hurts a lot more if I do."

_Jammed__,_ "I think your fingers are jammed," Hitoshi said. The only reason why he knew this is because, during gym, his bullies would make it a contest with whatever game they were playing to see who could jam Shinsou's fingers the most. "You should put ice on it. Do we have a nurse here?"

"It's okay," Nonoko said, already walking off the court to sit out, "I'll just put ice on it."

Mikan frowned, "It's not fair that they used their alices on the ball!"

Shinsou agreed with her, _But __we __didn't __officially __make __that__ a __rule__. _Taking a quick look at the team, he realized something, "None of us have offensive alices."

It seemed that everyone realized that too.

A cruel smile made its way to Syoda's face, "You are all going to lose! And then be our slaves," She finished off with an evil laugh reminding Shinsou of a certain blond.

_Monoma__? _Shinsou took a deep breath in and out, clearing his mind. Right now wasn't the time to think about UA and his classmates. He noticed Kokoroyomi's eyes on him but pushed himself to ignore it. "We can still win," Hitoshi said, "At least we have to try."

"Yeah!" Mikan exclaimed, and the game started again.

_It __wasn't__ even __five__ minutes _and yet again something else happened. Shinsou's not surprised by this point.

"Mikan has polka-dot underwear," Natsume had said.

That little comment threw Mikan into a fit. The ball flew out of her hands, aimed straight at Natsume but _then_ it _sidetracked_ and headed straight towards Hotaru's _face__._ "H-Hotaru—!"

Hitoshi winced. He _knew_ how much that hurt. Heck, he _heard_ it too. The 'plat' of the ball as it slammed onto his teammate's face. "Imai, are you okay?"

The ball was in Hotaru's hand. Silently, she handed it to Ruka and then walked off the court. She sat next to Nonoko, who was kind enough to share her ice with Hotaru.

"You— you— pervert!" With Hotaru off the field, Mikan finally gave in to her rage. She threw the ball again, and it slapped Kokoroyomi in the face.

_Mikan, __just __take__ a moment __and __calm__ down, _ Shinsou found himself grimacing because, once again, he _felt_ that.

Mikan's anger somehow happened to only be momentary, since she immediately seemed quite sad after. "We're never going to win! We only have four people left!"

_Well__, __it __wasn't__ like __we __had __that __many__ people __in __the __first__ place, _Shinsou glanced to the sidelines and saw Anna also sitting out. _When __was__ Anna __knocked __out__? _

"We should keep trying, Mikan!" Iinchou said.

"We should," Ruka agreed, "The game isn't over."

It turns out the game was _far _from over.

* * *

Shinsou was rather content with the result of a tie. He didn't want to be anyone's slave, thanks. Although, his quirk usually saves him from that. He was getting water until he heard—

"You have a mission," _The __same __guy __from __the__ other __day_ said to Natsume.

_What __mission__?_ Shinsou had stopped walking, actually behind the corner as he _observed_ them from afar.

Natsume glared at _that __guy_ and said, "Fine."

"You will get your mission assignments tomorrow," The guy said. _"__Also__, __your __classmate__ has a __rather __interesting__ Alice."_

Shinsou's mind rewinded to that one day when he came back from his Alice class._"__What __an __interesting__ Alice." __It __was __him__... __it __was __him __who __said __it__..._

Natsume's eyes narrowed, "You'll stay away from them."

Hitoshi had a sneaking suspicion that guy was smiling, "That's not up for you to decide."

"Stay away from _her__._"

_Ah, Natsume __probably __thinks__ he's __talking __about__... Mikan? _ Fear fogged Shinsou's mind, he instinctively reached for his capture weapon, the feel of the familiar fabric making him feel somewhat safe again. If he _was_ indeed talking about Mikan, then Hitoshi needed a way to protect her from getting in whatever _business_ this school has.

"I'm not talking about her," _That __guy _said.

Natsume's eyes hardened, "Then _who__?_"

"You'll find out _soon__._"

That sent shivers up Hitoshi's spine. Luckily, according to his conclusions, he wasn't talking about Mikan, but now the full realization that he might be talking about _Hitoshi_ weighed on his mind. _Just __who __is __this __guy__? __And__... __what __does__ he __want __with __the __students __here__? __What __missions __is__ Natsume __taking__? __Why __is__ he __taking __missions__? _

_That __guy_ walked away, his footsteps echoing in the hallway, "_He __was __eavesdropping__."_

That got a small flinch from Shinsou. Yeah, he wasn't in his actual-stealthy-body, but he made sure he wasn't seen. _So __how __did __that __guy __know__ I __was __here__?_

When _that __guy_ fully was out of view, Hitoshi revealed himself.

Natsume glared at him, "It's you who he was talking about, isn't it?"

Shinsou shrugged, running a hand through his hair, "And what if it is?"

Natsume stayed silent, walking away. "Just don't speak of anything you heard being said here today."

"Yeah, I figured," Hitoshi then remembered why he was here. Which was to get water, he had gotten sidetracked quite quickly. Although- his violet eyes flickered to Natsume's leaving form- he seems to be doing that a lot recently.

Maybe he'll delay his escape, stay here a bit longer. He needs to find out _what_ is going on in this school. Just thinking about _that __guy_ leaves a bitter taste in Hitoshi's mouth.

One thing seems to be getting clearer and clearer.

_Someone __needs __saving__. __But __who__? __And __how __is __Shinsou __going __to __save __them__? __Most __importantly__, __what__ do they __need __saving __from__? _Those questions were continuously unanswered for Hitoshi.

_I __need __answers__._

**Author's Corner:**

**Q: What do you believe is going to happen next?**

**Fun Fact #2: I was originally thinking of crossing over My Hero Academia with Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/A Certain Scientific Railgun but went with Gakuen Alice instead.**

**Note: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it so far! Please R&R. :D. Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5: Letters

Shinsou was walking to class. Upon entering the classroom, he noticed Mikan's under-the-weather state. Hitoshi was a bit concerned, "Mikan, what's going on?"

"I haven't received any letters from Ojii-san," Mikan burrowed her head further into her arms, "Did he forget about me already?"

"It's hard to think that he'd forget about you," Hotaru joined the conversation, "You're too annoying to forget, baka."

Hitoshi couldn't stop the small smile that was threatening to grow at the way Hotaru said it, "Maybe he didn't receive the letters?"

Mikan gasped, "Impossible! I send him letters every day."

_Everyday__? __That's__ a bit __overkill__. _"I don't think there's a post office in the academy. How do you send them?"

"I give them to Narumi-sensei," Mikan said.

"Maybe you should stop sending the letters for a short time?" Iinchou suggested.

"But then how am I supposed to check on him?"

"You can try asking Yura," Hotaru said.

"Yura?" Shinsou asked, "Who's that?"

"One of our classmates, she has the Divination Alice," Iinchou informed Shinsou. "That can work."

Mikan perked up, "Yeah, let's go ask Yura."

* * *

"Your grandfather is at the gate," Yura reported. "He wishes to speak to you, but as always, they will not let him in."

_As __always__? _Hitoshi glanced over at Mikan, whose expression had fallen to one of concern.

"We need to go to the gate!" Mikan said, "With Hitoshi's Alice, we can convince them to let Ojii-san in!"

"That's not a good idea, Mikan," Iinchou said, "We'd get caught very easily. I don't think Hitoshi wants to get caught."

"I don't," Shinsou said.

"Let's use one of Hotaru's inventions then!" Mikan glanced over at Hotaru who nodded.

"We can use a bug," Hotaru said, "But it's back in the classroom."

The four kids walked back to the classroom, Mikan in front of the pack, was clearly rushing. Once they made it back to the classroom Mikan was impatient to find the bug.

"Calm down, Mikan," Shinsou said, "Your Ojii-san is probably okay."

Mikan frowned, although she didn't reply.

"Here it is," Hotaru spoke up in her normal emotionless tone, "And here's the screen that goes with it."

"Wao, that's so cool," Mikan exclaimed, clearly amazed. "Get it to the front gates, where Ojii-san is!"

The four students crowded around the small screen. "Ooh, there's Ojii-san! He looks kind of sick. Why didn't he reply to my letters? Why is he here?"

"I think, like Yura said, that he wishes to see you," Shinsou commented.

"Narumi doesn't send letters," Natsume said.

Mikan turned around, "W-what? But he said that he would send them!"

"He lied," Natsume replied, "Why do you trust the teachers here?"

Mikan looked at Hotaru, "We need to find out if that's true!"

Hotaru got another invention. Along with the bug, they snuck into a room. In the room, there was a pile of Mikan's letters, being thrown in by Narumi.

Mikan was enraged. Angry tears were coming out of her eyes, "N-Narumi-sensei!"

"Oh, Mikan," Narumi says, nonchalantly, as if he's not burning letters that Mikan took to write to her family every day. "You're not supposed to be here."

"You burned my letters! My letters to reassure Ojii-san! You're such a mean person, Narumi-sensei!"

"Oh. Sorry."

Now Shinsou was a bit mad. The nerve that Narumi had to just say '_Sorry_' and it wasn't even sincere.

* * *

Mikan was being punished by being locked in her room. Shinsou, Ruka, and a begrudging Hotaru made their way to the no-star's attic room.

"You brought food!"

Shinsou raised a brow, "Not even a 'hello'?"

"Sorry, hi!" Mikan smiled sheepishly.

A small smile grew on Shinsou's face, "Anyway, yes, we brought food."

Mikan cheered as she was served the food. She munched and munched, after swallowing dramatically, she pointed at them and proclaimed, "You guys are lifesavers!"

Shinsou looked at Hotaru, "Was she always like this?"

"The baka hasn't changed," Hotaru said, although her voice was laced with fondness.

"You know what would help me more—"

The three prepared themselves for Mikan's stupid ideas. "—if I could go outside!"

Ruka knew where this was leading, "No."

"Please?"

"No."

Shinsou was very confused, "What's goin—"

"Prettypleasewithacherryontop?"

"No to whatever you just said."

"Pretty, pretty, please with a cherry and my Alice on top."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"RuKa!"

"Fine! Get the puppy eyes away from me!" He quite rudely pushed Mikan.

"We'll come back quickly!" Mikan said. And with that, her, Shinsou and Hotaru snuck out, leaving Ruka there, starting to change.

Into a girl.

* * *

The two merely chased after Mikan as she ran to the gate.

_Mikan?! __Why __are __you __going __to __the __gate__? __What __if __your __grandfather __isn't __there __anymore__?! _Shinsou sighed into his scarf as he continued running alongside Hotaru, trying to catch up with the baka Mikan.

Hotaru kept glancing over her shoulder, making sure that Hitoshi is there.

"Is something wrong, Hotaru?" Hitoshi wasn't breathing hard, which was interesting. It looks like this body isn't in his 12-year-old state but in his trained state.

It was a mutter, but it was an observation Hitoshi himself hadn't noticed, "I can't hear you behind me."

"Oh." His amethyst eyes glanced ahead of them, widening when they saw Mikan again, "Mikan-!"

"Who are you?! Let go!" Mikan's arm was held on tightly by some stranger that managed to get through the gate. "Let go of me!"

"Mikan-!"

Mikan looked at Shinsou, "Hito—"

**"Quickly! Step on their feet as hard as you can and run!"** The commands flew as fast as Shinsou could say them.

Hotaru and he sped up, trying to get Mikan.

Mikan did exactly as ordered, she was out of their grip in no time. Her eyes were still dazed, until Shinsou's control.

**"Run away from them,"** Shinsou whispered.

Mikan ran towards Hotaru and Shinsou.

Hotaru stopped abruptly, Shinsou stopping a bit infront of her. "There's a bomb, Hitoshi!"

His eyes flickered to Mikan, "Mikan, run faster!" She was out of Hitoshi's control, but she ran faster anyway.

"No, it's too late—" For the first time since he came here, Shinsou was terrified. The expression on Hotaru's face told the same story. _Mikan __blew __u__p __and__ they __couldn't__ do __anything__._

The smoke cleared, and hugging Mikan, shielding her was Narumi.

Shinsou couldn't stop the yell of relief that came from him, "Narumi-sensei–" Hotaru had sighed in relief, visibly sagging a bit.

"N-Narumi-sensei?" Mikan had apparently had a brief shutting down. She started sobbing.

Shinsou felt somewhat guilty because _this __is __the__ pre-__quirk__ era, __much __safer __than __his __own__, __yet __she __still __had__ a __villain__-like __run__-__in __at__ a __young __age__. _Shinsou put on a burst of speed, running towards the two. "Mikan, Narumi-sensei, are you okay?"

"I'm o-okay," Mikan rubbed her eyes, attempting to stop the row of tears.

Shinsou got a good look at Narumi's back, and he could safely say that it was a mess. "Narumi-sensei, you might have first and second-degree burns. We need to take you to a medic."

"That won't be needed, Shinsou-kun," Misaki said.

"Misaki-sensei," Shinsou greeted.

"You and Hotaru should get to your dorms," Misaki said, "It's clearly-" He waved a hand at the damage, "Not safe here."

"Yeah," Hotaru said, "We need to go, Hitoshi."

Hitoshi looked torn. He didn't want to leave Mikan just yet, but it was quite dangerous out there. _If__ we're __still __here__, they can't __catch __the __intruders__... _Hitoshi sighed, "Okay."

Hotaru and Hitoshi walked away from the scene.

* * *

Albeit, a bit hesitantly, Shinsou separated from Hotaru, continuing his separate way towards his own dorms.

"That was a wonderful use for such a power," A familiar, unnerving voice reached Shinsou.

Shinsou stopped dead in his tracks. He raised his arm to his capture weapon but didn't activate it yet. _Wait__, I __could've __used __this __to__ drag Mikan __to __us__, __how__ come I __hadn't __thought __of __it__? _Shinsou let the thought fly away as he asked, "What do you want?"

"I want your cooperation, but then again, you don't have a choice," He said, "Follow me, Shinsou Hitoshi."

His eyes narrowed as he glared at the shadowed figure. The shadowy figure had a mask on, his face was also unable to be seen against the dark of the hallways. "Okay," Shinsou said carefully, "I'll cooperate."

He was led to the principal's office. A sinking feeling was accompanied by fear, a feeling Shinsou seemed to be getting familiar with again.

"Shinsou Hitoshi, hello." The ESP smiled, "Enjoying your stay?"

"What do you want with me?" Shinsou asked.

The ESP pointed on a screen behind him. "Do you know him?"

_Aizawa__. __What __is__ he __doing __here__?! _"And if I do?"

"So you do," The ESP smiled, "Oh this will do, oh so well. Don't worry, we aren't doing anything to him yet."

"Yet."

"We couldn't help but notice, you have the same weapon," The ESP raised a finger and pointed at it.

Shinsou held onto it tighter, ready for action in case he was attacked. He kept the ESP and the shadowy guy in his vision.

"Don't worry, we aren't taking it away if you do a few _jobs _for the academy."

"Jobs?"

"Yes," The ESP said, "May I remind you, you don't have a choice. You're doing these jobs whether you like them or not. Or else that one that we caught, will infer our wrath."

"You wouldn't dare," Shinsou said.

"Oh I wou—"

**"Leave Aizawa alone."**

Laughter filled the room, "Oh there it is! The delightful Alice we all know and love!" The ESP's face crinkled with distaste, "Too bad we have to restrain it."

_Restrain__? _Shinsou couldn't dodge the hands that held him in place. "Let. Me. Go."

A necklace was shoved onto Shinsou by the ESP, "Your first assignment will be tomorrow."

"I'm not working with you."

A predatory smile laced the ESP's features, "You don't have a choice. It isn't just Aizawa you might hurt."

_This __was __the __mission__ Natsume __was __talking __about__? __Meaning__... _Shinsou glared right back at the ESP. "Just don't hurt them."

"Of course not. You may leave, Shinsou-kun," The ESP said, "Persona will pay you a visit tomorrow evening."

Shinsou Hitoshi left as fast as possible.

**Author's Corner:**

**R&R: Dragon: I really love your ideas. I did take some of them. Thank you for reading this story and for commenting so much! It really means a lot!**  
**Q: How do you think Aizawa got here?**  
**N: Thank you for reading! I really hope you liked this chapter! I loved writing it!**


	6. Chapter 6: Festivities

"There's a festival?" Mikan was delighted, as always.

Shinsou was wrapped up in his thoughts. _He __said __Aizawa__ may __not __be __the __only __one __getting __hurt__... __But __who __else __is __there__? Mikan? Hotaru, __Iinchou__? __Probably __not__ Hotaru __and __Iinchou__, they __behave__. __Or __is __it__... _Hitoshi's eyes flickered to the door of the classroom, _Possible __that __someone __else __could've__ come __with __Aizawa__?_

_But __who __could __the __someone __else __be__? __If __Aizawa's __here__... __What __about__ Eri? __Is __she __with __Present __Mic__? _Shinsou then tuned into the festival conversation.

"The festival's going to be amazing, right, Natsume?" Mikan said to him.

Natsume glared at Mikan.

Shinsou merely stared at the scene, _She's __doing __what __Andō__-senpai suggested __and __is __trying __to __befriend __him__. __But__..._

Natsume grabbed Mikan's hair as a fire heated up his palm.

_That's __not __going __to __work__._

"Natsume-! You jerk! Let go of my hair!" Mikan yelled, slapping Natsume's hand as an attempt to make him let go.

"Imai-san, please stop selling the pictures," Ruka said to Hotaru.

Shinsou glanced at the other situation going on. Hotaru had a bunch of pictures as Ruka dressed as a girl. _Oh, it's __from __yesterday__._

Hotaru looked Ruka dead in the eyes, "No." And then she _ran__._

And Ruka ran after her.

"We won't be seeing those two for a while..." Shinsou muttered.

Iinchou, who was sitting next to him, sweatdropped. A nervous smile made its way onto his face as he agreed, "Yeah. I just hope they're back before class."

"I'm so excited for the festival!" Mikan seemed to already have bounced back from the hair-burning-part-3 incident. "The Special Class is going to be amazing!"

"They're least popular," Syoda haughtily said, "Even if they did do something, why would anyone pay attention to their stupid alices?" She ended that with a laugh.

Mikan glared at her, "Watch, we're going to best your class, Permy!"

"My name is Syōda Sumire!"

"What class is Natsume in?" Mikan asked Iinchou.

"He's in the Dangerous Class," Kokoroyomi answered, "They're not allowed to participate in the festival."

This has Shinsou wondering if his Ability Class changed, he can only hope it hasn't.

Ruka and Hotaru returned, it seemed Hotaru won since Ruka seemed somewhat under the weather. Natsume had gotten a bit pissed off that Kokoroyomi exposed his Alice class and left.

Then someone opened the door to the classroom. Shinsou only had a brief look at him, but it reminded Hitoshi of Hotaru. The door was closed swiftly, and it seemed Hotaru didn't notice. "Hotaru, do you have any siblings?"

Hotaru glanced at him quizzically, "No."

"Okay."

Then Narumi comes in. "It's the week of the Alice Festival!" And for once, the classroom doesn't kick him out at the first sentence, which truly surprises Hitoshi. His guess is that everyone's excited for the Alice Festival, although, he doesn't quite get why. "You'll be able to hang out with your Ability Class for the whole week! Enjoy!" It was brief and curt. Narumi left the classroom again.

Shinsou looked at Mikan, "We should go to our Ability Class."

"Yeah!" Mikan exclaimed, "We're going to plan something amazing for the festival!"

They walked near the door.

"The Special Ability Class is useless-"

"Shut up Permy!" Mikan let Shinsou walk through the doorway and slammed the door shut.

* * *

While going to the Special Ability Classroom, they came across a flaming Natsume. "Why are you so excited about the festival? It's useless."

Shinsou half-heartedly agreed. _What's the point of the festival? It's not like the Sports Festival since there are no heroes here looking to scout. Plus, you show your Alice on a daily basis here. Having a festival for showing alices was just irrational._

"It's not useless!" Mikan exclaimed, "You're just saying that because your class sucks so much they can't participate."

"At least my class doesn't have useless alices as well."

"Take that back, you jerk!"

Shinsou sighed, making a mental note to teach Mikan more creative insults.

"I refuse to, Polka-Dots."

"You-!"

"We need to get going," Shinsou interrupted, "And Hyuuga, you have a point, but the festival's just fun either way."

Natsume 'tch'ed and walked away.

"What a jerk!" Mikan crossed her arms and huffed.

_She __really __needs__ more __insults __and __badly__. _"Let's get going."

"Yeah!"

* * *

The atmosphere in the room was so gloomy that Shinsou regrets stepping foot in here.

"The Festival's coming up!" Mikan chirped, a resounding groan from the rest of the class replied. "We should do something!"

"But what are we going to do?" One of the members said, "Our alices aren't popular enough to draw attention!"

Shinsou realized that, that was somewhat true. His Alice - or rather Quirk- doesn't draw attention at all, it's one for remaining in the shadows. Although the shadows part can be taken seriously for Andō-senpai. They don't have a flashy Alice in this class that isn't Mikan. And Mikan's was only flashy once.

Mikan frowned, clearly thinking. She thought until steam was coming out of her ears, and suddenly, her eyes gained a spark. "An RPG game!"

"A what?" Shinsou asked.

"An RPG game! We can be the monsters they need to get through to get a special prize!" Mikan said, "The prize can be genies that grant wishes! Three wishes only! And the contestants can have objects that can help them get through certain challenges!"

"That's such a good idea!" Andō-senpai exclaimed, "That could increase our popularity a lot!"

"We need to worry about advertising then," Shinsou said, "If we don't then no one will come."

"We should make posters," One member said, "And post them everywhere."

"And during our break," Mikan said, "I'll gather support for it!"

"We also need costumes," Andō-senpai said.

"Who's going to be the three genies at the end?" Hitoshi asked.

"The Festival's going to be conquered by the Special Ability Class this year!" Mikan yelled. She punched the air, "Yeah!"

The rest of the class did it too, "Yeah!"

_Plus Ultra. _Shinsou found himself thinking.

Shinsou bit back a snarky reply for Persona as he looked at the paper handed to him.

"This is the person you'll be saving, along with that, you'll have to take extra information about our academy away from these people."

Static filled Shinsou's head as he looked at the person he'll be saving _(__kidnapping__)_.

"I recommend doing the information gathering first," Persona said, "Doing it with another person is tricky."

Shinsou didn't reply. He couldn't believe he had to save _her__._

He thought she was _safe__._

"This is your first mission, fail it and you get punished as much as necessary. Your Alice suppressants will be turned off once you're out of the Academy range. If you try to escape during the mission, I'll know, and you'll regret it. Is that clear?"

"Crystal."

"Goodbye." Persona left Shinsou's room.

Shinsou stared hard at the paper given to him. The picture standing out. "I'll save you this time, Eri."

**Author's Corner:**  
**Q: How do you think Eri got here?**  
**N: I hope you like this second update! I didn't like how short I left the other chapter, although, this isn't much longer, I hope you enjoyed it! :D**


	7. Chapter 7: Central Town

Shinsou dressed in all black, eyeing the new accessories Persona gave him. According to Persona, they — _luckily_— wouldn't be activated while he was on a mission, but having them there just felt _wrong_... Well, he couldn't boycott it, not when he already had it on and couldn't take it off. He sighed as he looked at the mirror in front of him. Hitoshi could barely see himself, although that was kind of the point. Running a hand through his purple hair, he took his beloved scarf and put it on.

Doing a few simple movements to make sure he could still use it correctly, he slowly opened the door. Hitoshi felt uneasy. He was stealing, and technically, that was the work of a villain. Or he could simply count this as '_information __gathering_', nonetheless, he didn't have a license. It made him feel more like a vigilante.

_Iida __would've __loved __to __hear __about __his__ vigilante __activities__, __wouldn't__ he?_ Nonetheless, the future underground hero shook himself out of his thoughts. He needed to leave before sunrise. Persona had already excused him from his classes today. Shinsou had no reason not to get this done. By the time he'd return, classes that day would be over. Hitoshi obviously didn't trust Persona enough to leave him here with Mikan alone, but he also had to save Eri, nonetheless, he had to do this.

Hitoshi took a few deep breaths, making sure to calm down fully before leaving. He has to be calm for this mission, failure, as Persona pointed out before, just wasn't an option. It's not like Hitoshi would accept anything less than success for saving Eri. For all he knew, there was no Overhaul here, and unfortunately, no Izuku Midoriya.

Shinsou snuck out of the dorms so easily, clearly back in his element. He had missed this, patrolling with Aizawa, although it couldn't be counted as much of a patrol anymore. He's just glad he's out of the accursed academy.

Deciding to take the skyline highway, he could see how different this Japan was from his own. The major glaring difference —other than no heroes— was the lack of lights in the city. Alice Academy was in a very dark area, all which made it easier for Hitoshi but also set his instincts off in a very uncomfortable way. From the outside, Alice Academy looked like the most unsafe place to be.

_Very __different __from __UA's __looming __sense __of __security_.

Hitoshi paused on the rooftop, unrolling the map that he'd been given. He squinted at one of the street signs below and immediately found where he was on the map. Shinsou's eyes looked at where it was circled, his target. According to the map, it wasn't very far from here, but Shinsou knew better than to tire himself out getting there.

He continued jumping across rooftops until he made it to the correct one. Shinsou unlatched the mask that Persona gave him, and strapped it firmly around his head, securing it on his face. His quirk felt awkward with the mask on, Shinsou brushed it off as a psychological effect the mask had, rather than a physical one.

Once the mask was secured, he quickly made use of his lockpicking skills to easily get in the building. He had taken one of Mikan's bobby pins before leaving class yesterday, not that she had noticed. Shinsou stuck to the shadows once in the building. His objective was easy, _Get __the __Files __on__ Alice __Academy__, __see __where__ Eri __is __located__, __rescue__ Eri __if__ possible, __get __out __and __return __to __the __Academy__._

Hitoshi doesn't know if he'll be able to complete the second one, but he sure as heck knows he can complete the first. Luckily for him, and unluckily for whatever organization this was, the building had different signs guiding him. Cautiously, once he had made it to the office, he picked the lock and silently opened the door.

The office was completely devoid of life, not a single plant in the room. Papers were scattered everywhere in organized chaos so similar to Aizawa's, Shinsou felt his heart clench at the thought. His violet eyes trailed to the file cabinets, which he opened silently as well _—__although __not __without __great __difficulty__—_ and quickly began looking for his objective.

He scanned all the titles before landing on a specific one, _Alice __Academy__. _He took it quickly and shut the file cabinet. Shinsou paused, listening for any sounds that would've indicated anyone hearing the brief thud, after hearing none, he berated himself for the rookie mistake before moving on.

The shadows were Shinsou's best friends and they seemed oddly too inviting. He hadn't got a clue where Eri could be located. Maybe he should've stolen a map from the office, would've really helped.

Within his inner plight, Shinsou heard something but wasn't sure of what it was. He paused in his tracks, looking around for anything nearby. It only occurs later that what he hears is a breathing pattern of a living being. Shinsou's had rather heightened senses since birth, it came from the constant use to control his quirk, which came with a mental radar to help it perform easily. Hitoshi had to prevent himself from jumping in excitement at the fact that the person he found might be Eri, and that Eri might be okay now.

He had to finish the mission.

He followed the source of the noise, coming across an unfamiliar room. And sure enough, there was the small angel, sleeping soundly. Shinsou hadn't expected her to be in an actual bed. He had expected the normal kidnapping scene. Shackles, chains, not a completely normal bedroom. Hitoshi felt somewhat bad, it was like taking away a parent's child, but it had to be done and _quickly_.

Shinsou carefully hoisted sleeping beauty in his arms, avoiding any loud noise while he jumped from roof to roof, a bit slower since he had another person with him. When Eri fidgeted, he paused, completely. He didn't move a muscle before making sure that she was asleep again, and then Hitoshi would continue the journey.

Seeing the gates of the blasted academy made him somewhat happy —_now__ he can __actually __sleep__— _but a feeling of dread quickly replaced it. He entered the academy and went straight for the infirmary.

Gently dumping Eri on one of the infirmary beds in a room, he left as quickly as he came. Shinsou reported to the Principal's office since that was the fastest way to find Persona, or he'd assumed.

And he was right since Persona and the ESP were waiting for him there.

He took off the mask and handed the documents to the ESP. "Mission completed, all objectives acquired."

A smile rose onto the ESP's face as shivers ran done the spine of the hero-course student in front of him, "_Excellent_. This information can prove to be quite _useful_. Now, the Alice Festival is coming up and I want you on your best behavior."

Shinsou nodded.

"We'll have a _special_ guest, although I've had my suspicions on him for quite a while. Your second mission might come sooner than you were thinking."

And Shinsou dreaded the possibility.

A smile once again grew on the ESP's face, having dropped because of the _guest_ he was talking about, "You _might_ be as _useful_ as the Black Cat. I look forward to working with you, Shinsou Hitoshi."

Hitoshi didn't wish he could say the same thing as he left the office.

* * *

Mikan frowned, "I want to go to Central Town!"

"Central Town, what's that?" Shinsou asked. Of course, he was dead tired and talking took energy. But he was also way too curious to care.

"Central Town has all the stores and things of Alice Academy!" Iinchou said.

_So __the__ mall __of __this__ place... _For all that Shinsou knows, bad things constantly happen at the mall. And Class 1-A can surely testify for that, well, UA's Class 1-A anyway.

"Narumi-sensei, I really really _really_ want to go to Central Town!" Mikan said.

Narumi looked towards their other teacher, Jinno. "Come on Jinno, let her go and have some fun."

Jinno glared hard and long at Mikan before finally saying, "Fine if she takes her partner."

Mikan looked towards Natsume and started begging, even getting her secret weapon, the puppy eyes out. As Shinsou expected, the Hyuuga didn't budge.

And then a small child appeared.

According to Hitoshi's unidentified sources (one of their classmates), the small child was in the same Ability Class as Natsume. Which was Dangerous. _Am__ I __the __only __one __who's __concerned__?_

The two partners made an agreement that only increased Hitoshi's concern for the kids of this Academy. _What's __Natsume's __obsession __with __slaves__? __And __why __is __it __almost __always__ Mikan?_

_Nonetheless__, _all the kids went to Central Town.

Central Town, like Hitoshi thought, was boring. There was no reason for him to be there, and he'd rather take a nap. He had no idea why he exactly agreed to this, but he was here now. Going back seemed like too much effort for the purple dude, and like his wonderful mentor, he had mastered the art of being able to sleep anywhere. Just because Shinsou doesn't have a giant, yellow sleeping bag, doesn't make a difference.

Shinsou glanced at Natsume, who's been staring at a barrette that seems like it's made for a girl for the past five minutes. Hitoshi's convinced Mikan thinks Natsume's some kind of cross-dresser because of Ruka, but Shinsou thinks that Natsume probably has someone to give that clip to. Which is probably the reason Natsume's stuck doing missions, or that's what Hitoshi thought anyway.

Mikan was sulking due to her broke-ness, which had Iinchou offering money out of pity. But then Mikan decided to somehow earn her own, and was currently in the middle of the street, Shinsou watching from afar.

Somehow, people deem Mikan's act _amazin_g —Although Shinsou insists they did it out of pity— and she gets money from it. She uses it to buy a special type of candy from the Academy called Howalon. After giving each one of her friends one —yes, including _Natsume_, surprisingly — she tracks down Narumi and has him give it to her Ojii-san as a gift.

This has Shinsou wanted to face-palm on the spot since it seems Mikan didn't learn from the last time that Narumi doesn't send stuff out of the Academy. And then it has him disappointed at perfect candy wasted. Nonetheless, even if it was quite boring, Hitoshi's glad he got to go to Central Town with everyone.

It was a nice breather from the strange road this Academy's dragging him to.

* * *

"Hitoshi, do you have family members at the academy?"

The question Mikan asked made Shinsou pause momentarily. _Do I __have__ family __at __the __academy__? _"Yes. Do you, Mikan?" _I __have __Aizawa __and__ Eri, they __count__, __right__?_

Mikan frowned, "Ooh, you're so lucky! I don't have any here."

_Lucky__? __I'd __rather __them __not __be __in __this __dangerous __school__. _Shinsou shrugged, "I guess."

"Does Natsume have family at the academy?" Mikan asked.

Hitoshi didn't know, "I don't know. He probably does." _And __that's __who__ he's __trying __to __protect__._

"I wish I had family here."

Shinsou shook his head, "Be careful what you wish for. Family at this school has a lot of downsides."

"'This school'?" Mikan inquired.

Shinsou had to say, Mikan was unnervingly observant for a 10-year-old. "Yeah. I went to another school before this one. It was much safer and honest. Everyone was like family there."

"Everyone? A family?"

Shinsou mustered up a small smile at the memory of UA, "A dysfunctional family but a family nonetheless."

"That sounds like somewhere I want to be," Mikan said. She glanced briefly at Hitoshi, "Could you take me there one day?"

"One day," Shinsou said,  
_"__One __day__ I'll __take __you __there__."_


	8. Chapter 8: The Black Cat

"Did you hear about Reo?" Some kid said.

"Reo? Isn't he that celebrity that graduated from the school?"

"I heard that he's visiting our school for the Alice Festival."

A dramatic gasp came from the person, "Really?"

Mikan looked at Shinsou, "Do you know who Reo is?"

Shinsou shook his head, "Not one bit."

"How do you not know who Reo is?" Syōda asked, "He's a really famous celebrity that graduated from here!"

"I lived in a rather isolated town," Shinsou said.

"Oh, me too!" Mikan exclaimed.

"No wonder you don't know about him," Kokoroyomi said, "Well his full name is Reo Mouri, and like everyone said he graduated from here. He has an Alice, but no one in the Academy remembers what it was."

"He sounds mysterious," Mikan said, "That's weird. What do you think his Alice is?"

"I mean, he's a celebrity so it might be a pheromone Alice."

Hitoshi zoned out of the conversation from there. His violet eyes scanned the classroom, accounting for every person in the room except Natsume. _That's__weird__... _Natsume does skip class, Hitoshi knows that, but he barely does anything without Ruka. Ruka's still here. "What happened to Hyuuga?"

"Natsume-kun?" Mikan asked as she looked around, "Oh he isn't here."

"He's in the hospital because he overworked himself," Ruka said.

Shinsou's concern shot through the roof, "He's hospitalized?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't know he was in the hospital! We should go see him," Mikan said, "What overworked him?"

The room went dead silent at that. Hitoshi along with them.

"Anyway," Syoda broke the silence, "Ruka and I are leaving to visit Natsume."

"Can we come?" Mikan asked.

Syoda automatically shut her down, "No. We're Natsume's special friends."

"What?"

* * *

Reo stepped onto the campus of Alice Academy, a smirk laced on his features. "It's been such a long time since I was trapped on this campus."

"We need to get to Natsume," Ruka said to Syoda, "There's no time to gawk at Reo."

"Right, Natsume, I hope he's okay," Syoda said.

"What happened to Natsume-kun?" Reo asked them, a kind smile now replaced the smirk.

"Oh, he's in the hospital after getting an injury from gym," Syoda rep_lied_.

"That's sad," Reo said, "I should pay him a visit later." _The__Black__ Cat __shall __be__ mine..._

However, the two students he was talking to were long gone.

* * *

"We need to visit Natsume in the hospital and make sure he's okay!" Mikan said firmly, "What if he's not? We need to make sure!"

"Yeah!" Nonoko agreed.

"But how are we going to get there?" Anna asked.

"Hotaru!" Mikan pointed to her friend, "and her inventions!"

Shinsou wondered if he was actually going to go along with this. But out of nowhere, a dark feeling planted itself in his gut. _Something's__wrong__... __Is__it__ Natsume?_

"Hitoshi! Are you coming?" Mikan asked.

"Yeah," Shinsou said.

Anna brightened up, "He can brainwash the staff into letting us by! We don't even need a disguise."

"That's actually a really good point," Iinchou said, "You might not need the inventions either."

Hotaru nodded, "Let's take Hitoshi with us then."

"Okay, let's go!"

Just in case, the kids had taken Hotaru's inventions. They learned it was good to have a plan B from Hitoshi himself.

* * *

Reo made it to the hospital, positioning his guards outside of it, making sure no one else would enter after him. He looked at the door to Natsume's hospital room. "Narumi must be so happy to finally have him out of the way."

"We made it, Hotaru!" Mikan exclaimed.

"Be quiet, baka. We might get caught," Hotaru said.

The others (Nonoko, Anna, and Hitoshi) were caught by the guards that surrounded the hospital. They had bought enough time to let Mikan and Hotaru escape unnoticed.

"What are you guys doing here?" Someone asked.

"Permy!" Mikan said, "We're here to visit Natsume. Do you know which room he's in?"

"Shut up, don't be so loud," Syoda said, "Come with me. He's in room 404."

Mikan, Hotaru, and Syoda all made it to Natsume's room to witness a very shocking event.

Reo shoved a cloth in front of a struggling Natsume's mouth. Natsume then went out like a light. Reo shouted a few commands to his guards.

"What did he do to Natsume-kun?" Mikan asked, clearly alarmed.

"We need to tell the teachers!" Syoda exclaimed, grabbing the two and running out of the hospital as quick as they could.

Hitoshi had witnessed them running away from the hospital, and quickly decided to follow. The sinking feeling in his gut only got worse. _Did something happen?_

When Hitoshi caught up to them, he heard them saying to Jinno,

"Natsume's been kidnapped, Jinno-sensei!" Mikan exclaimed, "We need to stop Reo!"

"That's preposterous," Jinno said, "Stop lying."

Shinsou resisted the urge to defenestrate Jinno in favor of calling out to Mikan, "Mikan! If he doesn't believe you, let's go."

Mikan glanced at Shinsou, "You mean to-?"

"There's no time to consider it!" Sumire said, "We need to go, Mikan."

And thus, the three kids ran again, leaving Hotaru behind. Jinno looked at Hotaru, "Where are they going?"

Hotaru shrugged, she wasn't about to out her friends like that.

The three kids eventually caught up to the gate of the Academy and saw it open to Reo could leave.

"We- we need to save Natsume!" Mikan was out of breath already but pushed herself harder.

Amazed at her courage, Syoda ran faster as well. Hitoshi easily kept up with them, and they managed to slip out before the gate closed.

They saw Reo's car in the distance and kept sprinting towards it. Hitoshi went a little ahead to not lose sight of the car.

When Hitoshi went ahead, he didn't notice the Academy's teachers going after Mikan and Syoda.

"Mikan, I'll stay behind as a decoy!" Sumire said, "Get to Natsume, follow Hitoshi!"

"I can't just leave you behind, Permy!" Mikan exclaimed.

Sumire wanted to defenestrate Mikan at that moment, "There's not much time!"

"Now, now, students, you should come back peacefully," A random teacher that Mikan didn't know said.

"No!" Mikan said.

The teacher was going to turn on their Alice but then got attacked by a random crow.

"Ruka did that!" Mikan immediately realized, relief washing over her.

"We need to go."

"Where's Hitoshi?" Mikan looked around wildly. "We lost him and the car!"

Syoda cursed as she activated her own Alice, "I can smell them!"

Mikan turned to Sumire in surprise, "Your Alice can track them!"

"Yeah, we need to go!" Sumire began running with Mikan behind her. They ran to this warehouse, where it went black for them.

Meanwhile, Hitoshi was treating this as an infiltration mission. He wisely stuck to the shadows. Upon witnessing Mikan and Sumire get kidnapped, he somehow found a way to sneak into the room they were kidnapped in.

Mikan and Sumire had wakened up a few minutes after they were kidnapped but pretended to sleep while Reo was monologuing.

"Z will be so proud," Reo said, "We have the Black Cat and some extra ones."

_The __Black__ Cat? _Hitoshi wondered.

Reo somehow stepped on Natsume and continued his monologue, "Stupid Black Cat. You burned down my house in that fire."

Mikan spoke up, "The Black Cat?"

Sumire wanted to slap her so badly.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Reo said, "This kid does the dirty work for your school. Actually, all the kids in the Dangerous Class do. But the Black Cat is famous for burning down a whole town when he was a mere 8-years-old."

Mikan gasped. She didn't believe it, she really didn't. _There's__ no __way__ Natsume-kun __would__ do __that__._

Unbeknownst to Mikan, Sumire also agreed. _There__'s__ no __way__..._

Hitoshi however, believed it, _That __was __probably __the __day__ he __got __his__ Alice. __You__ can't __expect__ a __small __kid __to__ control __his __quirk __without __quirk__-__counseling or proper training. It was the first day too__._

Reo then used his voice pheromone Alice, Hitoshi deduced to make Mikan pass out. Or he thought Mikan passed out anyway.

Hitoshi kept watching over them as Reo exited the room. _He has __to __save __them __somehow__._


	9. Chapter 9: Escapee's Relief

"What happened to Shinsou, Sakura, Syoda, and Hyuuga?" One of the staff of the academy asked the homeroom teacher of class 1-A, Narumi.

Narumi sighed, "I don't know. Ever since Natsume was in the hospital, I haven't heard from either of them."

Jinno frowned, "That's concerning. And then them planning an escape right after the hospital feat? That's suspicious."

The other two teachers stayed silent, they agreed with Jinno, but clearly wouldn't voice it.

"It wasn't on purpose!" Ruka, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation with Hotaru by _accident__, _said.

"How do you escape the academy and have it not be on purpose?" The unknown teacher asked.

"Natsume was kidnapped!" Ruka defended them, "And you guys wouldn't listen, they had no choice."

Jinno sighed, "This propaganda again..."

Hotaru's steely gaze kept the other two from saying anything as she said, "I have proof."

That caught the teachers' attention.

* * *

Natsume opened his eyes for the first time in ages as he observes his surroundings. He is slightly disgusted by how Mikan is chewing on Sumire's restraints, although he doesn't show it. _-He __also__ can't deny it's __somewhat__(?) __effective__.- _

"Natsume!" Mikan exclaimed in happiness.

"Shut up, baka. They might come back," Sumire said, ignoring how Mikan paled ever so slightly at her sentence.

There was a barrier surrounding them, "We can't use our alices."

Mikan frowned as she nodded, "Yeah, we've tried using them multiple times but to no avail."

"You have earmuffs," Natsume said, "Why?"

"Oh these earmuffs were to communicate with Hota-" A look of realization dawned on her features.

_-__In __the __shadows__, __Shinsou __prevented __himself __from __facepalming __at __Mikan's __momentary __stupidity__.- _

"Well?" Sumire glared at Mikan, "Call them!"

Mikan did just that, and luckily, the teachers and Hotaru replied.

"What are they saying?" Natsume asked.

Mikan smiled, "They're trying to locate us so we shouldn't try to antagonize them or we could get hurt."

_-__That __was __one __of __the __dumbest __pieces __of __advice __Hitoshi __had __ever __heard__. Shouldn't they __be __trying __to__ escape? __Nonetheless__, __Hitoshi __left __to__ do __some__work__.- _

Mikan then said, "You should burn the ropes if you can, Natsume-kun."

A small fire exploded in Natsume's palm. He used that to slowly burn his rope. He was about to go to Sumire's but paused when he heard the door creak slightly. The three kids looked like deers stuck in headlights as Reo came in and took the earmuffs right off of Mikan's head. The barrier was seemingly disabled so Reo could do his true objective, that Mikan and Sumire had heard earlier, and making join the Z organization.

Reo gruffly grabs Natsume with his hands, he pulls on Natsume's collar, "We need you. You should join our organization. You won't be alienated since we're all _just__ like __you_."

Suddenly, a thump interrupted everything. That thump was then followed by at least fifty more. Mikan looked around, "What's going on?"

They heard Reo's comm switch on from the dead. "There's an intruder in the building- it's a kid. His Alice is really strong and he can fight-" Everyone in the room heard as the guy was cut off, his comm falling onto the floor, the line dead.

"Anyway," Reo somehow seemed unaffected by the sudden fall of his men.

"How could you not care for them?" Mikan asked. She looked absolutely distraught.

"They're the low-level pawns, why should I care?"

There's a man in the room that wasn't Reo, he hadn't chosen to speak until now, "That girl doesn't seem affected by your Alice."

That's when Mikan realized Reo was still using his Alice. She hadn't noticed, but a quick glance at her dazed friends confirmed the fact. Reo's eyes narrowed in suspicion, inspecting Mikan closer, "Her face matches that woman's too."

More thumps resounded on the top floor, this time, they were in such rapid succession that they gained Reo's attention.

The man that spoke out earlier said, "We should check that out and take out who's doing it."

Reo sighed before agreeing. They both left the room.

_-They __didn't __know __that __Hitoshi __was __planning __this__, __and __thus__, __their__ fall.-_

"We need to escape. Sumire, do you smell anything?" Natsume asked.

"Gunpowder," Sumire answered immediately, "Lots of it."

Natsume managed to get them both out of their restraints before saying, "Here's the plan-"

* * *

Hitoshi yawned. Using his quirk so much does have some kind of backlash, although right now, it's just a dull headache. He wasn't a fan of the new restraints. Those things zapped him every time he used his quirk on more than two people, thus him having to take out most of the men using combat. Which Hitoshi duly noted, much to his annoyance, made all the men fall unceremoniously to the floor, creating loud noises. That 1, gave away his position to the enemy, and 2, just annoyed him in general.

He met this 'Reo' guy and immediately noticed how much his quirk was like Midnight's and his mashed together. _If __his __qui__-Alice. Alice, __Hitoshi__. He __doesn't __have__ a __quirk__. __If __his __Alice __is __the __Voice __Pheromone__, __and__Narumi's __is __just__ a __pheromone__, __then__ I can __infer __that__ they're __all __just__ like __Midnight's __quirk __but __without __the__ gas. _Shinsou's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, _Meaning __if__ I __listen __to __this __guy __too __much__, __it __might __be__ me __getting __knocked __out__. _

_That __just __makes __everything__ more __difficult__,_ Nonetheless, Hitoshi had people to save. And with that, he jumped into action.

* * *

Mikan, Sumire, and Natsume were unnerved with how quiet the base was. Sumire then heard one final, soft thump, "So, there are really no enemies here."

"What do you mean?" Mikan inquired.

"There's no one left," Hitoshi appeared from a door nearby. The first thing the kids noticed was the fact that he had a very visible limp.

"Hitoshi?" Mikan looked over at him in concern, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine-"

"Did you take down all the guys?" Natsume asked.

Shinsou nodded, "But they all got a few lucky hits in though. I'm rusty."

Sumire stared in slight awe before her face fell, "They're waking up."

Hitoshi nodded, "They'll only stay unconscious for a few more moments so we need to get going."

They all agreed and got going quickly. However, they were stopped, by a very persistent Reo. "You will not be leaving anytime soon."

They briefly panicked, before Natsume said, "I'll hold him off until you guys escape."

* * *

_"__If __you're __ever __caught__, __make __sure __the __enemy __and __you__ don't __survive__. You'll erase __all __the __evidence__."_

* * *

"Natsume?! We can't just leave you behind!" Mikan argued.

"We're all going to be left behind if we don't rush," Sumire commented.

Shinsou stayed silent. _I can't __really __take __on__ Reo. __Not__ like __this__. I'm __not __the __Shinsou __Hitoshi__ I __was__. I __barely __survived __the __first __encounter__. __The__ second __encounter__? __Not__ a chance. __Luckily__, __the __only __advantage __here __is __my __quirk__._

_That__ I, __unfortunately__, can't use __due __to __these __blasted __restraints__. _It was easy to notice how annoyed Shinsou was about that fact.

Before Hitoshi could come up with a good decision, Sumire took him and Mikan and ran. The sudden grabbing made him stumble, but it just made the pain in his ankle worse. Shinsou knew that it wasn't broken, so it was most likely sprained. That didn't stop it from hurting like hell though.

"Syoda, can you _please _slow down?" Shinsou asked, "My ankle, I think it's sprained."

Mikan glanced at Shinsou in surprise, "I thought you said you were fine!"

"I was until we started running."

Sumire, luckily, slowed down a lot, which lessened the strain put on Hitoshi's ankle. But the sharp pain didn't stop. _At __least__ it's __manageable__. _With that one thought, it was enough to let Mikan out of their sight. "Mikan?"

Sumire completely stopped. She frowned, looking around wildly, "Where did the baka go? We can't leave without her!"

"Or Hyuuga," Shinsou dryly commented.

That one comment was enough for the two to infer where Mikan went.

* * *

_I __have __to __save__ Natsume-kun! He shouldn't __have __to __fight __alone__! _Mikan tried speeding up her sprint. She had to get there faster, _what __if __it __was __already __too__ late __to __save__ Natsume-kun?_

Luckily, she found Natsume still in the same room. He was fighting Reo and he looked to be panting hard. A good look at Reo suggested that he was doing better than Natsume, and that was not good. Mikan panicked. In her panic, she grabbed Natsume and began running.

"Wh-"

Reo looked alarmed. By now, nearly all the men in the warehouse had awakened. "Get them!" Reo commanded.

Mikan was running with Natsume to a different room in the warehouse, which was much like a labyrinth.

"Why- why did you come back?" They had paused so Natsume could catch his much-needed breath.

"I couldn't leave you, you're my partner, you're my friend."

Unfortunately, again, Reo had appeared. But due to Mikan being near a bag of gunpowder, she threw the gunpowder at his eyes. Reo shut his eyes briefly, but that brief second was enough for the kids to go running again.

They fell down a flight of stairs due to Mikan's misdirection, much to Natsume's growing annoyance."You need to leave, Mikan."

"People are waiting for you at the Academy! I can't leave you!"

"That makes no sense! We're not even friends!" Natsume was dead tired. He just wanted all of this to end. The boy was in no mood for a dumb conversation with Mikan, which somehow, escalated into a full-blown argument.

"Ack-" Natsume is grabbed gruffly by one of Reo's lackeys.

"Natsume-kun-" Mikan tries to reach out for him but was thrown into a wall. It caused her to automatically slump, clearly unconscious.

Natsume _snapped__. _Even if he's not their friend, he doesn't like people getting hurt because of him. Flames ignited around him.

The lackeys panicked, "He's going to blow up the ware-"

The last thing Natsume saw was his very familiar sensei and an annoying mop of purple hair.

* * *

Mikan opened her eyes, only to immediately close them again, as they adjusted to the lighting of the room. She felt groggy, absolutely exhausted even though she seemingly just woke up. Mikan looked around her room, a smile growing on her face when she sees two people, "Hotaru, Hitoshi!"

"Mikan, you're finally awake, baka," Hotaru said, "Don't stay sleeping for that long ever again."

Shinsou had a small, light, and rare smile planted on his lips, "Welcome back to life, Mikan."

Her memories came rushing to her, which caused a wave of realization to whisp over the brunette. "Where's Natsume-kun, is he okay?"

Hotaru nodded, "He's asleep in his room."

"Reo escaped though," Shinsou said, "So now we gave to be careful."

"I'm just happy everyone's okay," Mikan smiled. "We should visit Natsume-kun!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's go, baka."

* * *

Nothing can explain the immense relief Shinsou felt when Mikan woke up. Seeing her all bright and bubbly again made him somewhat happy. He was happy they survived that, although somewhat frustrated again at this new environment.

This same environment that took Aizawa, forced him to work for them, forced restraints on him, and took Eri. He was annoyed, and beyond mad. But seeing Mikan's and everyone's happiness just washed all that frustration away.

Mikan finally got promoted to a one-star, and she was delighted. Right now, they're all heading to Natsume's room due to Mikan insisting.

As they walked, it was dead silent. It seemed that Mikan was lost in thought. She was thinking, and that was something Shinsou and Hotaru weren't willing to interrupt.

_She __needs __time __to __process __things__, _Shinsou thought, since it made a lot of sense. After all, they did get kidnapped, and survive an explosion. Along with the fact that she woke up today, Mikan needed time to process things.

Perhaps she's in shock, one could say, but they wouldn't know, would they? The mind is a person's personal, unknown to anyone else. That's why when someone's thinking, Shinsou doesn't annoy them.

They made it to Natsume's room. There he was, snoring softly. Mikan looked like she was going to cry from relief, but she didn't, which to Hitoshi, was very surprising.

The moment just reminded Hitoshi of how he needs to work harder, just so he can prevent things like this from happening again.

* * *

**Author's corner:**

**N: Hey! I hope you like this chapter! What do you think is going to happen next? Thank you for reading!**

**RR: Dragon: Most likely :). Although why he really did it may be released soon. :) Thank you for reading and reviewing!**


	10. Chapter 10: Thinking & Questioning

Shinsou's had it. There's been way too much going on lately, and he's hadn't had time to process _anything__. It's __absolutely __insane __how __many __things __happened __in __such__ a __short __amount __of __time__. _It started with him fighting a villain, suddenly appearing in a quirkless (?) world and then escalating to an organization kidnapping him.

_This __clearly __wasn't __Shinsou's __month__._

Not to add the fact that he doesn't even know what alices _are_. _Are__ they __quirks__? __Are__ they other supernatural __abilities__? __Are__ they __the __thing __that __quirks __mutated __from__?_ He doesn't _know_, and it somewhat stresses him out.

But he knows somewhere that probably knows.

_The __library__._

Shinsou couldn't explain the immense relief he had when Gakuen Alice did, indeed, have a library.

He didn't know what to expect from this school anymore, and half of him doesn't want to find out. _Curiousity __killed __the__ cat, will __satisfaction __bring__ me __back__? _Hitoshi noticed that there was no current librarian, meaning, _he __had__ no __clue __how __the __library __was __organized__._

Which made his search a good ten times harder. Nonetheless, Hitoshi sighed at his unfortunate predicament before getting on with searching. _Hopefully__, __some __of __them__ will __have __some __indicator __of __the __system __here__..._

Searching proved to be a rather boring thing to do, thus why his mind flew off to do other things while his eyes were skimming for a specific word.

The events from this month were on replay in Shinsou's mind, his mind making up worse-case scenarios that made him realize that he did actually get the best-case scenarios.

_Alice._

He paused and looked at the book cover once again. All it said was "Alice," and Hitoshi didn't even know if it was referring to alices. _Alice... __Maybe __it __could __be __referring __to __alices__. Like __quirks__... __It __probably __all __started __with __one __person__, __right__?_

Opening the book, he quickly read the words, 'Experiment #1'. Shinsou's stomach dropped quickly, _Hopefully__, __these __experiments __aren't __anything __violent__..._

_December__ 1st, XXXX_

_Test __Subject__: Alice Harrison_  
_Superpower__: __Some __weird __way __of __summoning __weapons_  
_Goals__:_  
_-Find __out __how__ Alice __got __this __power_  
_-__Extract __it_  
_-__Pass __on __the __power_  
_Restraints__: Alice __needs __to __be __especially __restrained __with __multiple __sedatives__. __In __an__ MRI scan, __it __showed __how __many __parts __of __her __brain __was__ working __while __using __this__... __Power__. It's __estimated __that __the __sedatives__ will __slow __the __process __of __her __power__, __we __must __keep __her __heavily __under__._  
_\- Dr. Jale __Kenpt__._

Shinsou kept reading, his mind absorbing the information like a sponge. The longer he read, the grimmer the book seemed to get.

_December__ 12th, XXXX_

_Experiment__ #22:_  
_Hypothesis__: Alice can __pass __on __the __power __to __her __twin__, Alex, __without __any __difficulties__. __This __is __due __to __the __fact __that__ it's __been __proven __before__ possible __to __pass __on __the __power __for__ a __limited __amount __of __time __whilst __using__ a __specific __mixture __of __Alice's__ saliva __and __spit__, __sure __enough__, __the __power __might __last __longer __on__ Alex __due __to __being __blood__-__related__._  
_Goals__:_  
_-__Pass __on __power __for__ more __than__ 20 minutes_  
_-__Awaken __Alex's__ possible __power_

"The experiment was a failure..." Shinsou hummed as he read the rest, "Oh, these keep getting worse..."

_February__, 4th, XXXX_

_Experiment__ #45: Alice can use __her __power __while_ _under__ extreme __pain__._  
_..._

_March__ 5th, XXXX_

_Experiment__ #56: Alice has __multiple__ powers._  
_..._

_Experiment__ #67: __Alice's__ powers cause __her__ extreme __suffering__._  
_..._  
_Experiment__ #78: Alice can use __her __power __for__ 3 hours straight __before __being __put __in _critical _condition__._  
_..._  
_Experiment__ #82: Alex has __awakened__ a __power__. __We __successfully __found __the __mutated__ gene __giving __them __the__ powers._  
_..._  
_Experiment__ #94: __Alice's__ powers __have __mysteriously __vanished__. __Unable __to __be __awakened __again__._  
_..._  
_Experiment__ #101: Alex made a __stone __capable __of __transferring __his __power__._  
_..._  
_Experiment__ #145-_  
_It's __been __five __days __since__ I __escaped __the __lab__. __The __scientists __did__ horrible __things __to __my __sister__..._

Shinsou blinked at the abrupt switch of narration. _Is __this__, Alex?_

_My __sister__, Alice, __didn't __survive__. Once __her__... __Power__ -no, Alice- __was __gone__, they __put __her __to __sleep__ as __fast__ as possible. __She __was __deemed __useless__. I __certainly __wasn't__. __The __scientists __themselves __were __unprepared __for __my __breakout__, __and__ I find __that __good__. __However__, I can't __be __caught __now__. I __took __the__ notebook __to __possibly__ find __out__ a date __when __the __scientist __did __those __things __to __my __sister__, __and__ I __found__ a __few__ dates. __Whoever __is __reading __this __in __the __future__, do __you __have __an__ Alice?_

Shinsou's immediate reply was that No, he doesn't an Alice. But, he wasn't exactly sure. _What __if __quirks __are __just__ a __mutation __of __alices__? __Quirks__ don't __have __the __weird __stones__ Alex made... _Hitoshi wondered, _Were __alices __quirks__?_

* * *

Shinsou can say with finality that he is addicted to the notebook. Alex, even after his escape from the lab, had never stopped researching his own Alice. And later in the notebook, Alex had met other people with alices, and discovered most of the inner workings of them.

Hitoshi found one main difference between alices and quirks. That difference was, the way they worked. People with quirks naturally had a quirk factor in place, that quirk factor was located in the brain. Like a muscle, a quirk can be strengthened from constant use, or weakened by neglect. However, Alice didn't work this way. Like a quirk's strength, an Alice's strength generally depends on the health of the user. Unlike a quirk, an Alice is unable to get stronger nor weaker.

Quirks also only come in one. Shinsou made a theory that this was possibly because of the fact that their brains spend much time strengthening and refining their quirk, especially the mental quirks. But alices can come in as many as they want. This is most likely because of the fact that the brain's energy isn't focused on one sole factor. Or that's what Hitoshi thought.

Of course, he was still greatly confused. So he asked Mikan, "Hey Mikan, how does your Alice feel like?"

Mikan said, "My Alice feels like I'm opening a gift box every day. Whenever I use it, I have to open the gift box first. What about you, Hitoshi?"

"Mine feels like an extra muscle," Hitoshi replied. _I __mean__, people __at __home __literally __get__ extra __muscles__. __Now __that__ I __think __of __it__... I don't __think __that's __happened __here __yet__... _None of the library books had anything related to mutant quirks. Sure, Sumire's Alice is technically one, although it isn't permanent. But Shinsou was to find something permanent, he wants to see if alices really are that different.

Hitoshi also noticed the abundance of mental quirks. Quirks like Kokoroyomi's mindreading, or Mochiage's (a random dude in the class that Shinsou magically learned the name of) flying Alice. Of course, there are outliers like Natsume's fire or Andō-senpai's shadows, but the other alices usually have something to do with their mentality. Basically, quirks are more science-anatomy based, while alices defy all of that, throw it out the window, and makes its own rules.

It was quite interesting but more frustrating.

Hitoshi didn't mind. He actually liked small brain teasers, but this was a huge one and that made all the difference.

He just couldn't understand it. _Are __quirks __an__ actual __mutation __of __alices__? _If so, then what caused the alices to mutate in the first place?

Shinsou had so many questions.

* * *

The park was mostly empty and devoid of people, as expected. Of course, there were still those little kids that were playing, and a specific pair of kids caught his eyes.

Shinsou recognized one of the kids from the time Mikan and he went to Central Town, it was Natsume's kid. _Youchi__? __Jichi__? I __think __it __was__ Yoichi? _Hitoshi couldn't _not_ recognize the other kid. It was Eri in all her blue-haired, red-eyed glory.

A small smile tugged on Hitoshi's lips, _It __looks__ like __Eri's __making__ friends. I __hope __she __continues __to__._

Eri glanced at Shinsou from where she was playing. He was familiar to her, but she didn't know why. _Have__ I __met __him __before__?_

"Eri-chan, let's go," Yoichi said.

"Okay, Yoi-kun," Eri answered.

Hitoshi decided to stay at the park even after the kids left. There was something comforting about being around nature, it was grounding to him.

It made him realize that some things just never change.


	11. Chapter 11: Alice Control and Wikipedia

"I got promoted to a single star!" Mikan exclaimed.

Shinsou barely listened. He was zoning out more than usual, questions buzzing around in his mind.

"Being a single star's not the best," Someone piped up. That, someone, was Mochiage. Mikan was unfazed as she grinned when the door opened.

When it opened, it revealed two very familiar classmates. By then, Shinsou had concluded, he was too tired for this class. Due to stress, Hitoshi's insomnia had been worsening, and it wasn't pleasant. Shinsou had a particularly sleepless night yesterday, thus, him being tired today. _I __hope __that__ it's __somewhat __quiet __today__..._

"Natsume-kun, Ruka-kun!" Mikan chirped, "Good morning!"

_Out __the __window __goes __my __hopes __of __quiet __whenever __Mikan's __around__. __What __did__ I __expect__?_

Ruka smiled and replied, "Hello, Sakura-san." And of course, Mikan's greeting flew over the head of Natsume, completely ignored.

Shinsou has no idea why Natsume still insists on ignoring Mikan. _Mikan's __trying __so __hard __to __be__ friends __with __him __but __is __constantly __getting __rejected__. __That's __tough__._

The bright Sakura didn't let that hinder her though. Mikan was quiet one moment and chatty the next, "Hotaru, what's your class going to do for the Alice Festival?"

Shinsou blinked sheepishly, _Right __the__ festival. _He had totally forgotten about that. Hitoshi wondered how festivals at this academy were like, but thinking of festivals just made his heartache with a homesickness he thought he was over a long time ago. But in reality, he had simply ignored it. There were too many things going on, and now that there isn't, it's the time where the urgency of Hitoshi's situation falls atop of him. Hitoshi needs to get home somehow, but, _if__ I __leave__, will __everyone __here __be__ okay? _Natsume'd be taking missions, and maybe even Mikan would be roped into it. If Persona was interested in Hitoshi's quirk, there's a chance he'd be interested in Mikan's Alice as well. That left a bad taste in his mouth. Untrained children should not be taking life-threatening missions. But then again, barely anyone at the academy knew about them. _That __must __be__ a lot __of__ stress __on__ Natsume __and __the __others__..._

"Hitoshi! It's time to go to our Ability Class!" Mikan said, snapping Shinsou from his thinking spree.

Hitoshi got up, "Okay, let's go."

The two walked out of the classroom door.

"So what do you think we're doing for the festival?"

"Didn't you suggest an RPG game last time?" Shinsou asked. His memory was a bit hazy, _probably __from __lack __of __sleep_\- "It was a good idea."

Mikan grinned, "You really think so? Making the game will be soo hard but totally worth it!"

Shinsou hummed in reply. Mikan took this as the chance to keep talking, "So it's weird how the teacher wasn't present when we went to our classroom before."

Shinsou shrugged. He honestly didn't care, heck, Hitoshi hadn't noticed that until now. "Well, the teach must've had things to do or something."

"Or something," Mikan absentmindedly repeated, "What would the teacher have to do?"

Once again, Hitoshi shrugged, "I don't know. I'm not a teacher at Alice Academy."

"Riiiight." Mikan glanced at the sky. "Today's really sunny! We should do something after school today!"

This was new. Mikan hadn't ever brought anything up after school before. _And __of __course__, __it __had __to __be __today__,_ The day Shinsou was planning on catching up on his sleep. "And do what?"

"I don't know! But we should do something fun!" Mikan smiled, "Maybe... A prank! Or-"

"A prank?" Shinsou doesn't even question where she gets these ideas. "Didn't you just get promoted to a Single Star? Do you really want to get demoted?"

Mikan frowned, "It's just that... With everything going on, we haven't gotten to hang out at all. I feel like I barely know you, Hitoshi."

What Mikan stated was true, Hitoshi barely knew anything about Mikan and she didn't know anything about him. Everything has just been chaotic lately, and to Shinsou, it's really really tiring. He sighed as he said, "Okay. But we're not doing pranks or anything insane."

"Maybe we can play truth or dare, or twenty questions!"

Shinsou paled at the mention of those games. He wasn't looking forward to them.

* * *

"Hi, I'm the Special Ability Class's teacher, Nodacchi," He introduced himself. "You two are Sakura and Shinsou?"

Mikan cheerily nodded, "Yep! Where were you, Nodacchi-sensei?"

Nodacchi smiled lightly, "My Alice lets me travel through time. I'm actually supposed to be your history teacher too, therefore I'm often trying to see any events in history for myself."

Mikan's eyes lit up, "That's so cool!"

"Unfortunately," Nodacchi said, "Once I activate my Alice, I can't exactly control it. I can't control when it stops, only the time it stops at."

To Shinsou, he somewhat understood, even if the explanation was somewhat confusing. Mikan stared at Nodacchi, totally confused.

"So today, so that you don't end up like me, we'll be practicing Alice control."

"Alice control?" Mikan inquired, "So what am I gonna do?"

"You're going to have to stop me from traveling," Nodacchi explained, "The others can do their club activities."

And for the first time that day, Shinsou was left alone. He was fine with that really. He sat down on a chair and started to brainstorm.

_How __could__ he __participate __in __the__ RPG?_

* * *

Kaminari Denki was stressed, not many people could tell he was. He noticed something was wrong when a frown marred Present Mic's face during English class. He had assumed that Mic was hearing bad news, he didn't assume how bad the news actually was.

Kaminari noticed how Shinsou didn't return to the dorm last night, and Denki was concerned. He noticed how Aizawa didn't return for class the next day, though the real question was, who couldn't notice? All Might- Yagi Toshinori- had taken up the mantle of the homeroom teacher.

Their sudden absence was stressing Kaminari out. According to a recent news article (From Denki's totally very reliable yet unknown source), Aizawa and Shinsou had gone MIA. And usually, in a profession of heroes, going MIA isn't a good thing. Kaminari notices how the teachers panic ever-so-slightly when they headcount the class wrong, he notices the relief that dawns upon them when they recount. Kaminari Denki notices a lot of this.

He's also noticed the fact that most of the class have Wikipedia articles. What he didn't notice until now, is how Shinsou's article, in particular, is constantly updating. Denki was in the common room with all his other classmates. The Wikipedia articles on his phone were bookmarked.

Unlike what others believed, Kaminari loved researching. Random facts found just seemed to satisfy Denki, thus he was on Wikipedia a lot. He noticed a specific update to Shinsou's profile.

_What __is __an__ Alice? _Kaminari found himself asking. Right under quirk, it listed 'Alice: Unconfirmed'. _And __what __is__ Alice __Academy__? __And __who's __updating __this__?_

The person's username was Noda-ccino, _probably__ like __frappuccino__..._

"Yo, Denks, what you thinkin' so hard about?" Sero asked.

Kaminari debated telling them, but _would__ they even __listen__? _They teased him about how dumb he was all the time, how would this time be any different? Plus, Denki wanted to solve this on his own, it intrigued him. "Just wondering how I'm going to pass the next math test coming up."

Bakugo spoke up immediately, "Just f*cking study, dunce face."

For Kaminari, studying makes it ten times worse. "But that's so hard!"

"Just don't be a dumb*ss."

"That's impossible for jamming whey."

"I thought you were on my side Jirou!" Kaminari was _betrayed__._

"When was I ever?"

Kaminari smiled, he liked this. The break the class had, the fact that they weren't out there fighting villains. He somehow felt as if it wouldn't last long. Denki liked the fact that he was here for it, he felt bad for Shinsou. Shinsou was somewhere unknown, going through something unknown, and probably alone.

Denki glanced at the Wikipedia article. It updated again.

_He'll __read __it__ later._


	12. Chapter 12: Alice Festival Pt1

Shinsou walked into the ceremony of the Alice Festival with only one thought on his mind, _where __is__ Mikan? _When he looked around, the familiar brunette was nowhere in sight. The ceremony started, and Hitoshi wasn't paying attention. He couldn't help but be distracted today. He was hyped for the festival, somewhat, but he also hoped that it didn't remind him too much of UA. Hitoshi can't take that anymore. He misses it there too much, and it's hard to leave it behind.

Mikan came running into the auditorium and sat next to Shinsou. "Sorry, I was late, I overslept."

"Alice practice?" Hitoshi inquired, "You shouldn't overwork yourself."

"I'm not, I promise," Mikan said, "I ran into a couple of highschoolers on the way here."

"Oh?"

"Oh, they're the ones up there!" Mikan pointed to the stage.

"Them? Aren't they the Principal Students?" Sumire tuned into the conversation.

"Principal students? What's that?" Mikan asked, cluelessly.

"Well, it's exactly what the name suggests," Kokoroyomi said, "Basically instead of a teacher's pet, you're the principals."

"Only two people in our class are aiming for that spot," Sumire informed them, "Which are Iinchou and Imai."

"Hotaru and Iinchou can definitely do it!" Mikan chirped.

Shinsou only had one thought on his mind, or rather, two. _Principal __students__? __I'd __be__ running __away __from __the__ principal as __fast__ as possible._

Kokoroyomi stole a glance at Shinsou but stayed silent. Hitoshi never noticed Kokoroyomi's gaze. "Anyways, the assembly is over, let's go, Hitoshi!" Mikan grabbed onto Shinsou's wrist and dragged him to their Ability Class's booth. They all change into their costumes and they wait. And wait.

Shinsou was getting bored, not to mention the fact he was tired too. Stifling a yawn, he got ready to close his heavy eyes until two students walked up to their booth. The rest of his classmates brightened up immediately.

"Welcome to the Special Ability Class booth! We're doing Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, see if you can actually manage to get one," Andō said.

"U-um, actually—" The student spoke up, "We're looking for the Somatic Class's booth."

Andō immediately backtracked, placing an apologetic smile on his face as he told them how to get there. Once the two students left, Mikan's fave contorts into one of sadness, expressing how distraught she truly is. "They'll never come to our booth."

"We can't afford to get discouraged," Andō smiled, "The festival is supposed to be fun, remember? If they don't come, we'll just run it by ourselves."

"Wow, you spoke that like a true hero!" Misaki's tone sounded somewhat sarcastic.

Meanwhile, Shinsou sighed at the comment. He grumbled a small, "You don't even know..." Right then and there, Andō-senpai had reminded him of his classmates. _With __the __endless __amount __of __optimism__..._

"Look, it's Sakura's booth," Ruka said.

Shinsou was left wondering where they came from. Mikan brightened up immediately, "Hi! Come try out our RPG!"

Sumire scoffed, "What fun would it b-"

"Sure," Narumi said, stunning both Shinsou and Sumire.

"So here are the rules;" Andō explained the rules and then opened the door into their booth. Shinsou got up and left to go to his place. "So are you guys ready?"

"Watch us ace it!" Sumire exclaimed before they all went in at the same time. They opened to separate rooms.

* * *

Narumi was greeted with someone who was easily swayed by his Pheromone Alice, and he easily cleared the rest of the challenges in his path.

"Hiya, Narumi-sensei!"

Narumi sweatdropped, _It's Mikan... _He knew Mikan was immune to his Alice, and the fact that the object he got was no use here. What could he do with a pencil?

"Give up, Narumi-sensei?"

Narumi sighed.

* * *

Ruka entered the room and immediately regretted choosing this path. Around him were dozens -no, _hundreds_\- of Misaki's.

The Misaki infront of him grinned as she explained, "You're gonna have to guess which one is the real me."

Ruka gulped.

"You have three guesses, choose wisely."

Ruka wisely chose to give up.

* * *

Sumire paused on this opponent, who was telling horrible jokes. Her opponent's Alice reminded her of Shinsou's. _Wasn't his brainwashing or something? Can't this person do the same? But it's only if I laugh, right?_

Sumire fought to kept a stern expression as most of the jokes her opponent spouted were so bad that it became funny.

"Why does Saturn have rings? Because God-"

Sumire realized she had earplugs. She plugged her ears and quickly went to the next obstacle.

Shinsou yawned as Sumire appeared in his sight. Sumire cackled, "You can't do anything, I have earplugs on!"

"Oh really?"

"Didn't you-"

Hitoshi had learned a long time ago that his opponent didn't need to hear him, he just needed any type of response. "Walk out the door and announce that you've failed."

Sumire did just that.

* * *

Mikan felt her chest swell up in satisfaction with how many people were at their booth now. When Ruka tried it, news spread about the fact that he lost. Then, they had a bunch of popularity and new customers.

Natsume appeared and suddenly Mikan's confidence sank faster than her math grades.

"You're flat."

Mikan blushed a bright red, "I'm still growing, pervert!"

"Don't treat Mikan like that," Andō stepped in.

"I can treat her however I want," Natsume growled back.

(This reminded Shinsou of Bakugo, a bit too much.)

"No, you can't."

"Watch, I'll get your lamp from the RPG and then make you be my slave, then I'll treat you however I want."

"As long as it isn't Mikan."

"I'm trying it," Natsume's voice made it to her ears.

Mikan grinned, "I bet you won't make it to the end!"

"Be my guest," Andō challenged Natsume.

As always, Natsume ignored Mikan, yet listened to Andō, which would've baffled Shinsou if he wasn't expecting it. Natsume went through the door of challenges.

* * *

His first opponent was some girl that could pass through mirrors. Natsume was given an object, and this time, much to his confusion, it was a mechanical roach.

"This challenge is- eeeek!" Once the girl saw the roach, she screamed and immediately quit.

Natsume smirked, roaches do come in handy. His next challenge was some dude that could take his ghost out of his body.

"You need to try to get me back into my body without hurting me!"

Natsume stared at him. He huffed, this was too easy. He made a flame in his hand and started walking towards the ghost's real body.

"What are you doing? You can't hurt me-"

Natsume slowly heated up the body and prevented any injuries while doing so. Eventually, the body got too hot and the ghost returned. Natsume cut off the heat, leaving the person shivering.

He walked into the next challenge casually, smirking when he saw his challenger. "Tsubasa."

Andō didn't reply as his shadow quickly hooked up to Natsume's, which paralyzed the Hyuuga. "Give up, game over."

Yet another smirk and more fire and it was Andō giving up. Andō could only hope that Mikan could stop him.

"Surrender, Natsume!" Mikan ordered.

Natsume merely stared at her, _You're not the one with the brainwashing Alice. _"You can't order me around."

"There's no other way out."

Natsume wobbled on his feet, regulating his temperature to just a bit above average.

"N-Natsume, are you-"

Natsume braced himself for the fall that he put himself through. Nearly wincing he thinks, _This better work, I got at least one bruise from this._

"Natsume?!" Mikan ran over to him.

Natsume grabbed onto one of her ponytails. Mikan gasped at the fact that Natsume was perfectly fine. "Surrender or your hair burns."

"T-that's not fai-fireeeee!" Mikan urgently surrendered.

* * *

_"That's impossible." _Shinsou almost laughed at Andō's dejected voice. Now that Natsume did indeed win, he was forced to choose a lamp to find out who's going to be his slave. Hitoshi was pleasantly surprised at how much confidence Andō had in his classmates, yet, Natsume still made it through.

Not even Mikan could stop Natsume, and she had the Nullification Alice. Meanwhile, Natsume hadn't crossed paths with Shinsou at all, which Shinsou was happy about. Hitoshi dryly commented, "Now if only you can find out which is Andō-senpai's lamp."

Natsume looked at Kokoroyomi, "Get me the correct lamp."

Kokoroyomi hummed before pointing at one in the far left.

Shinsou's eyes widened, _Isn't that-_

It was Mikan's lamp. Not only did Mikan rage, but so did Natsume. Hitoshi didn't hold himself back from laughing this time.

Mikan turned to Shinsou, clearly surprised, "Hito-"

"What are you laughing at, purple bush?" Natsume spat at him.

Shinsou hadn't had that good of a laugh in a long time. "It's just that-" He wouldn't stop laughing, _why wouldn't he stop laughing?_

Natsume ignored him as he stated, "Polka-Dot's my slave now."

Mikan looked ready to cry, meanwhile, Shinsou was still laughing.

* * *

Shinsou watched Mikan leave with Natsume and Ruka to visit the other booths while fulfilling a promise to Hotaru. He sent a glance Andō's way, who was sort of happy that he wasn't Natsume's slave for the day.

"Do you want a break, Shinsou?" Andō asked.

Yes, yes he did. His head hurt from the Alice restraints' constant zaps whenever he used his godforsaken quirk. Hitoshi had no quirk backlash, which was good since he didn't think he could take a migraine while he was this tired. Yet Shinsou merely replied, "I don't need one." It was true. Barely anyone goes on Shinsou's route so he mostly is just standing around, waiting. He had only used his quirk on about 8 people, everyone else was going on Misaki's or Mikan's route, leaving his incredibly bare. Mikan just got her break, she's off with Natsume and Ruka. Misaki's having her break, and others were too. There were too many people on break and Shinsou didn't want to add to them.

"You look tired."

"When do I not?"

"Good point," Andō replied, "Nonetheless, you should get a break."

"Maybe later."

_Yeah, later._


	13. Chapter 13: Alice Festival Pt 2

Shinsou did end up getting a break. He met up with Mikan, Natsume, and Ruka at the technical booth.

"Hitoshi! You came!" Mikan chirped.

"Yes, I did," Shinsou replied. Taking a glance at the other two accompanying Mikan, he decided to greet them, "Hello, Hyuuga-san, Nogi-san."

Ruka said, "You can call me Ruka, Shinsou."

"Oh okay."

Meanwhile, Mikan was rambling about the booth, "Look at how amazing it is—"

Natsume was suddenly suspiciously kind to Mikan, "Do you want a candy, Polka-Dots?"

Mikan looked happy, "Yeah!" She took the biscuit from Natsume and suddenly,

She couldn't talk.

Shinsou was a bit unnerved. _This academy also had candy to make someone temporarily mute? That was strange..._

They walked around the booth for a bit, which had Mikan thinking. Mikan stared at the stands in amazement, _Their alices basically indicate what they want to be..._

Shinsou noticed that too, but was the one to say it aloud, "Their alices indicate what they want to be, or what will be the easiest to be."

Sumire nodded, "I also know what I want to be, I want to be a police officer." Then her eyes sparkled, "Or maybe Natsume-kun and Ruka-kun's wife!"

Shinsou hummed. He couldn't answer hero, not at all. "I want to be a paramedic."

Mikan frowned, She had no idea what she wanted to be.

"What about you, Natsume-kun?"

Natsume shrugged as he avoided eye contact.

"Ruka-kun?"

Ruka embarrassedly blushed and looked away awkwardly. It seemed like hedidn't want to tell.

"You don't have to tell us, it's okay," Shinsou said.

They went into Anna's Cakeshop because Mikan dragged them there. She had a real sweet tooth. Shinsou himself wasn't a sweet tooth, and from the looks of it, neither was Natsume, however, they decided to humor Mikan.

They were served a cake that smelled suspiciously weird.

Taking a slice, Hitoshi stared at the cake. It looked perfectly normal. And that's what tipped Hitoshi off a bit. He glanced off his left and saw Natsume glaring at the cake.

Mikan was going to eat it.

It seemed Natsume wouldn't allow that. He spilled the tea all over Mikan's cake slice.

And didn't even have the respect to at least say 'Whoops'.

Mikan was so enraged she could talk again. She stared spouting insults at Natsume that had Hitoshi wondering where she got them. "You over expensive stove, you jerk, how could you do that to Anna's cake?!"

Natsume clearly didn't care, yet got defended by someone from the other table. The person said, "He was right for ruining it. It gives stomachaches."

Mikan frowned, "That doesn't excuse your action, Natsume-kun!"

Ruka piped in, "Sakura-san, Natsume mostly thinks about his friends. Anything affecting them is a good enough reason for him to act."

But according to Natsume himself, Mikan isn't his friend? Could it be... Natsume's a tsundere? Hitoshi thought amusedly.

Mikan seems to understand somewhat. "So Natsume-kun is like Hotaru?"

"Imai-san?"

"That means that you and I have a lot in common! What's your dream, Ruka-pyon?"

"I want to be a vet," Ruka's cheeks are lightly tinted pink. "And maybe live with animals?"

No homo but Hitoshi finds that somewhat adorable. Who knew the kids of a dark school like Gakuen Alice could be such cinnamon rolls? He's a lot like Kouda, Hitoshi feels his homesickness come back like a tsunami but manages to stuff it down to a manageable level.

"I think your dream will come true, Ruka-pyon! I believe in you!"

Ruka smiled.

* * *

Hitoshi read the journal again, his notebook was next to it, and he was nervously biting his pencil as his mind made a multitude of theories.

_Technically, there should be a quirk that equals an Alice if they really did evolve_, Hitoshi thought, _Then if Kurogiri got me here... I need to see if there's an Alice that can get me back home. Or maybe something like Noddacci-sensei's._

Hitoshi frowned as he thought of something else, _however, if alices aren't related to quirks at all, then where did alices come from? Yes, they came from Alice, but where did that gene originally appear? And why did it awaken?_

_People here get their alices almost at any age_, Hitoshi wrote down, _But the quirk developing window is limited. From 4-7 years old, and very rarely does it develop after. If they're really connected, then why are there so many differences?_

_They must not be connected, or not as I think they are..._ Hitoshi couldn't find himself believing that they weren't connected in some way. _If only I had more information..._

* * *

"We should visit the Latent Class' booth!" Mikan exclaimed.

"I wonder what they did," Shinsou said, "Let's go."

"Is that a teleportation port?" Ruka said.

"It probably takes us to the latent ability booth!" Mikan stepped on the teleportation port and literally teleported away.

Natsume, Ruka, and Shinsou followed soon after. Mikan was awed by the attractions once they got there. "Look! Everything's so awesome!"

"We're supposed to be going to the haunted mansion," Natsume bluntly stated.

Mikan sheepishly smiled, "Right. Let's go."

So they went to the haunted mansion. Shinsou felt a bit unnerved, but he wasn't necessarily scared. He glanced over at Natsume and Ruka, they were completely unaffected. Mikan was being scared sh*tless.

There was the creepiest ghost that Shinsou had ever seen, and it seemed to break the last straw for Mikan as she fainted. Luckily, Shinsou caught her before she hit the floor.

Ruka's rabbit squeaked and jumped out of his hands, running away. Ruka quickly followed after it.

And suddenly, everything was pitch black as the mansion lost its power. Shinsou sighed, "Must've been some sort of power fuse."

"I'll try to escape to see if I can get the power back on," Natsume said. He tried climbing up the wall, but in a sudden misplacing of his foot, he fell.

"Are you okay?" Shinsou asked, lightly placing Mikan on the floor, "That was a tough fall."

Natsume didn't reply.

"Are you hurt?"

Natsume stayed silent.

"I assume you are. I'll try to get out and get help for whatever you hurt," Shinsou said. He easily climbed the wall since it was a piece of cake from his normal building-scaling activities and left.

_So there was an escape route there.._. Natsume felt Mikan waking up. He would rather prefer keeping her asleep so she wouldn't be as loud, but much to his displeasure, that wasn't an option.

Mikan woke up and blinked groggily. She then clung to Natsume when she realized it was a dark room. "Why are we here?"

"Power outage."

"Can I hold your hand? I'm scared."

"No," Natsume bluntly answered.

Mikan wonders why Natsume doesn't make light with his fire but she doesn't comment on it.

It was a tense, awkward silence between the two.

"Sorry for yelling at you for ruining Anna's cake. I was just mad," Mikan apologized.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

That caused Mikan to frown, and another tense, awkward silence.

Natsume... Maybe he's a nice person. I don't really hate him anymore. He's a lot like Hotaru... Maybe, can I really make him laugh? Mikan tried, "Do you know why Saturn has rings? Because God liked it so he put a ring on it!"

Natsume stayed with his usual poker face. "That was horrible, Polka-Dots."

"You Nasty Fox, my jokes are amazing!"

Mikan felt her skirt being flipped. She saw a bit of light. Mikan put the two and two together and blushed embarrassedly. "That's so-"

"Strawberry Fields this time then."

"Natsume!"

The two started fighting, and Mikan pinned Natsume.

When Shinsou came back, and so did the lights, he merely stared. "Am I interrupting something?"

Mikan blushed furiously, "No! Nothing happened!"

Natsume, however, said something else, "Just because no one was here doesn't mean nothing happened."

Shinsou merely stared again.

Mikan's fury flew threw the roof as she spouted insults like a fountain while getting up. Natsume was faintly laughing at the display.

Shinsou smiled a bit, _Natsume found his source of entertainment, huh?_

* * *

Mikan was hanging out with Hotaru and Iinchou. Hitoshi couldn't come since he said he had something to do, but that was alright with Mikan. Mikan frowned, she's been noticing that Hotaru was in a bad mood, but why; she didn't know.

"We should get something to eat," Iinchou suggested.

Mikan agreed. They had been walking around for a long time, looking at all of the attractions a bit more closely.

They went to a café and paused for a second. Iinchou commented, "That's a pretty big accident."

Mikan looked towards the Ferris wheel, "I hope the people that were on it are okay."

Hotaru stayed silent. "Is that the vice president?" Iinchou said.

Mikan glanced at Iinchou in confusion, "Vice president?"

"The vice president has a Pain and Heal Alice," Iinchou explained, "He's probably healing the injured."

"What's his name?" Mikan asked, "He looks nice."

"Imai Subaru."

Mikan glanced at Hotaru, "Hotaru, is he...?"

"Yes," Her monotone was sharper than usual, and from years of Mikan being her best friend, Mikan knew this was what was bothering her.

Mikan didn't comment on it, at least not until the vice president himself came to give them a visit.

The vice president goes over to them and offers them a greeting. "Hello. I'm Imai Subaru. Are you guys Hotaru's friends?"

Mikan immediately noticed the similarities. _Similar facial features, and monotone voice? Check, they're definitely related._ "Yeah! I'm Sakura Mikan and this is Iinchou!"

"I'm Tobita Yuu, nice to meet you, Imai-san," Iinchou respectfully said.

"It's nice to meet you too," By his tone, Mikan knew he didn't mean it.

Mikan also noticed Hotaru's heated glare at Subaru. Glancing at Iinchou who had most likely noticed the same thing, they decided to give the siblings a bit of alone time. "Hey, Iinchou, remember the takoyaki stand I was talking about? We should go visit."

Iinchou nodded, "Yeah. Sorry, Imai-san, Hotaru, we'll catch up with you guys later."

"That's fine," Subaru pleasantly stated.

Hotaru grit her teeth at being left behind with a stranger but merely nodded. The two siblings walked away.

Iinchou and Mikan obviously followed them, but in a not-so-obvious way. Iinchou felt bad for eavesdropping but he couldn't deny he was curious.

"Why didn't you ever come home?" Hotaru asked. "Mom and Dad missed you."

"Of course you didn't."

"This is my first time meeting you. How can I miss something I never had?" Hotaru bluntly replied, "I only knew that you existed because Mom and Dad said so. You never sent any letters or returned. You're vice president, why can't you even send letters?"

Subaru shrugged, "It wasn't necessary."

Hotaru was internally seething with rage, but let none of that show on the practiced poker face of the Imai.

"I'm glad you're an Alice like me, Hotaru."

She watched as her brother walked away, paying the little sister of his no attention.

* * *

"I feel like I'm exactly like Subaru," Hotaru finally voiced her insecurities.

"You'll never be like Subaru!" Mikan said, "You're Hotaru! You're a lot nicer and different!"

_Am I?_ Hotaru found herself wondering. Her imagination warped into something.

_"Subaru!" Her mother called, "Please, you can't leave!"_

_"I have no choice, mom."_

_"Hotaru," Her dad spoke to the girl gently, "We'll teach you everything we never got to teach Subaru."_

"You're right. I won't become like Subaru."_ Because I'm different._


	14. Chapter 14: Alice Festival Pt3

It was the third day of the Alice Festival. Or the fourth? Shinsou doesn't know, he lost track. He was with Mikan, unsurprisingly. And then, he heard something very interesting.

"The Alice Festival is ending soon," Mikan said, "Today's the day for the Somatic's class performance!"

"Yes, Mikan, I'm well-informed," Shinsou replied as he, Hotaru, Anna, Nonoko, Iinchou, and Mikan walked through the hallways.

Ruka, who was in front of them, abruptly turned around, saying, "Don't go."

Anna, Nonoko, and, of course, Mikan stared in a dazed shock. Hotaru seemed as unaffected as always. Shinsou couldn't say he was surprised, Ruka does get embarrassed easily. Ruka did continue with a, "I'm serious! Don't go, okay?" Everyone in their tiny squad merely nodded in response.

They kept following Ruka, which had Shinsou wondering if it was a good idea. "I mean it, don't come!" The group nodded once again in reply, although, some giggled. Eventually, Ruka left, leaving them to roam the halls in search of the actor breakroom. A few people joined them on the way, one of them being Kokoroyomi.

He and Kokoroyomi were actually pretty good friends. Whenever he wasn't with Mikan, he was with Kokoroyomi.

"There it is!" Mikan chirped. Anna and Mikan peeked into the room. "Look! The outfits are so pretty!"

"That person must be playing princess!"

Shinsou also peeked through the door, "Oh, probably."

"Hey, hey, can we ask a question?"

"Do you know when Ruka is?" Kokoroyomi asked.

The person who was getting their makeup done was pretty stunned at the question. Shinsou watched as they jumped a bit before replying. "N...not here…"

Hotaru appeared beside the person _( which had Shinsou wondering how did she get there?)_ and blew into their ear. The person, _( that Shinsou recognized as Ruka now-)_ jumped up, clearly surprised.

"Ruka-pyon?" Mikan exclaimed, " You're playing Snow White?"

Everyone else was equally shocked.

Ruka looked pretty pissed, "I told you not to come, didn't I?"

These are kids, you really think they'll listen? Shinsou found himself thinking. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kokoroyomi nod in agreement.

The girls, however, totally ignored him as Mikan complimented (_ Or Shinsou thought it was supposed to be a compliment-)_ Ruka, "You look so cute! Like a real girl!"

Anna nodded in agreement, "You're so pretty! I can't take my eyes off you!"

Ruka frowned, "I told you not to come!"

Yeah, you've repeated that for a while now, "But we wanted to," Shinsou shrugged.

"Yeah! You're our friend, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan said.

A flash of light came from Ruka's left. And, of course, it was Hotaru. Ruka stared at her, "Don't take pictures!" Hotaru, being Hotaru, continued.

Narumi appeared from behind them, causing Shinsou to glance at him, "Oh, I was wondering what all the commotion was. Turns out it was just you guys."

Everyone turned to look at him. Kokoroyomi looked up innocently at Narumi, "Oh, we were just telling the actors to break a leg!"

Because we totally didn't come for just Ruka, The group quickly nodded in agreement. Kokoroyomi had something and handed it to Narumi, "Also, this is for you."

Isn't this low-key bribing? Shinsou watched as Narumi took the Piyo Cakes. Narumi smiled, "Well if you insist…" Narumi then said, "Well, only performers are supposed to be here but…"

"He's so cute!" Mikan interrupted as she went to Ruka, "Everywhere you look he looks like a real girl!" Mikan jumped around, observing Ruka, "Can I get a picture with you later?"

Speaking of pictures, where did Hotaru go? Shinsou glanced around to see Hotaru staring at the camera in her hands, Why do I have a feeling she might sell those?

"I can, right?"

Ruka snapped , "Shut up!" He then stomped off, leaving Mikan there, pouting.

"He gave me the cold shoulder…"

More bright flashing lights of a camera and everyone knew it was Hotaru. Ruka tried to get the camera wildly, "I told you not to take pictures!" They stared as he continued, "Imai, come back here!"

* * *

They were all backstage, watching as the actors set up.

Mikan stared in astonishment, "So this is what they look like backstage!"

Shinsou watched her amazement, "You've never seen it before?"

"Nope!" Mikan replied, her gaze still on the actors, "Never! It's so cool!"

"What kind of play is it?" Nonoko asked Narumi.

"Well, as you can see," Narumi gestured around them, "The play is a crossover between Snow White and Sleeping Beauty."

_Well… this is going to be interesting_, Shinsou had never really read the originals, but he sure as heck watched the Disney versions. If they're anything like Disney… Disney was regarded as classics. Even if the movies were 200 or so years old, Shinsou found himself watching them every now and again.

"That sounds really interesting," Anna said.

Shinsou agreed, "I wonder how they'll pull it off."

"Mmm," Narumi didn't reply but ate the Piyo Cakes.

" Ahhhh!" There were high-pitched fangirl screams, prompting everyone to look a specific way.

"Woah," Mikan said, staring at the girl seated, "She's so pretty."

"Who is she?" Shinsou asked.

"That's Yuri Miyazono," Narumi replied, "She's playing prince but since she has the female pheromone alice, all the females are near her."

As soon as he said 'female pheromone alice' Shinsou glanced at Anna and Nonoko, who were swooning over Miyazono. When he looked at Mikan, Shinsou realized that Mikan must always have her alice low-key activated. Mikan is never affected by pheromone alices, although Narumi has his off, it's clear that Mikan constantly has her alice on.

_Doesn't it ever tire her out?_ Shinsou wondered. If someone with a quirk did it, they'd be tired out nearly immediately after a day. _Does she even realize?_

Nonoko and Anna continued fangirling over Yuri, "Yuri-sama!"

"They all end up like that-"

(_Unless they're Mikan—)_

"So she's a very big hit!" Narumi said. "But you have the nullification alice, so it doesn't work on you."

"Yeah, but does that mean Mikan's alice is constantly on?" Shinsou asked.

Mikan then began to wonder that too, "It doesn't feel like it's constantly on."

"Come take a look at this," Narumi gestured to them.

Shinsou and Mikan followed peeking through the curtains. Shinsou found himself in awe of how many people were here, and from the big intake of air on his right, he assumed Mikan was too.

"Woah, even Piyo's here!" Mikan exclaimed.

"It's because the Somatic type has a lot of pheromone alices," Narumi explained, "Ruka's animal pheromone alice, Miyazono's female pheromone alice… our class is guaranteed the most attendees."

"Oh, that makes sense," Shinsou said, "Their alices attract them."

"So did you make Ruka-pyon Snow White to get more attendance?" Mikan asked.

_Wouldn't you get the same result from others? If they have a pheromone alice…_ Shinsou wondered.

"Of course!" Narumi replied.

Mikan smiled nervously, "I bet Ruka-pyon would be pissed if he heard that…"

"I know I would be," Shinsou commented. Suddenly, the fan started blowing. "Huh, what are those?"

"Sticky balls!" Someone yelled. There were pops of light and suddenly people were stuck onto things.

Shinsou frowned as he looked at the scene, Are they okay? Who even brought those?

Mikan looked at the scene in shock as Kokoroyomi spoke from beside her, "Sorry, it's my fault for bringing the sticky balls."

"Hmmm… this isn't good," Narumi said. He looked around, "It looks like it got Yuri too."

"How will you do the play?" Shinsou asked.

"Sorry," Kokoroyomi and Kitsuneme apologized.

Anna and Nonoko were stuck to Yuri, obviously still fangirling as Yuri looked like she would rather be everywhere but there. Mikan looked at Kokoroyomi and Kitsuneme. "Why would you bring that here?"

"All the other actors were hit with it too," Narumi inspected the students that were stuck to things.

"Is there any way to get this stuff off?" Shinsou asked, "Surely there has to be."

"The effect of the Sticky Balls last two hours."

"That's a long time," Shinsou frowned, "Shouldn't there be a dissolver or something?"

Narumi continued, "The performance would've been done by then."

"Oh, no…!" Mikan exclaimed, "We have to do something, we can't just let this end."

"Hey, Naru," And sure enough there was Natsume with a kid there.

Narumi quickly explained the situation, "There were sticky balls and now…" Narumi sighed, "Ah, this is bad…" Until he seemingly got an idea. "Hey Natsume, he's-" Narumi pointed at the kid, "One of the seven dwarfs so could you go on stage with him as a cat that lives with them?"

Shinsou found that ironic. He looked over at Natsume, waiting for his reaction. He found Natsume's reaction hilarious. Natsume glared at Narumi, "Screw you and your cat idea. I should beat you senseless."

Shinsou's lips quirked up into a small smile as Narumi insisted. Mikan appeared in front of Natsume, "It's the least you can do to help!"

"No way! Why should I help that creep out?"

"If it helps, you're not directly helping Narumi but instead helping the kids that can't go on stage due to an accident ," Shinsou said. "You should help, at least."

"Why can't you do it?" Natsume's glare found its way towards Shinsou.

"I wasn't requested."

"That's so cold," Narumi sighed, "The seven dwarfs are now the six dwarfs, I guess."

"Huh?"

"You'll have to watch from the audience, Natsume."

"Isn't that what he was supposed to do?" Shinsou muttered under his breath. Where else would he watch from? The ceiling?

The kid looked like he was going to cry, "Wha- what? But I practiced so hard…"

Natsume looked like he had a change of mind there. Shinsou caught it, but unfortunately, Mikan didn't. As Natsume turned to walk away, Mikan yelled, "You could've been more helpful, jerk!"

Mikan turned around and muttered under her breath, "Moron."

"We should find out the people that weren't hit," Shinsou suggested, "Then we can find replacement actors."

* * *

"Is this all the people that weren't hit?" Narumi asked.

"Yes!" They chorused.

"We'll have to use you as replacement actors," Narumi said. He then turned to Yuri, "Could everyone surrounding Yuri help out too?"

Shinsou found it creepy how similar that was to his brainwashing. The girls obeyed with one command from Yuri.

"I think you guys can manage if you have this many people," Mikan looked over the actors.

"Shinsou, you should play the hunter in the forest and Mikan…"

"W-what? Me? No, I'd rather," Mikan tried to wave it off.

"Wait, what? I'm the hunter?" Shinsou asked, "I've never been in a play before-"

"Stop trying to chicken out," And suddenly, there it was, Natsume in a full costume.

"N-Natsume? That outfit…" Mikan couldn't believe her eyes.

And Shinsou couldn't believe his ears,_ since when did Natsume have all these fangirls? Did he just ignore them before?_ However, a glare at the fangirls and they didn't dare to laugh. Of course, Mikan didn't get the memo. Mikan started giggling. She moved over to Natsume and pet him, laughing even more, "Natsume, you're so cute! You and Ruka-pyon are on an equal level in terms of cuteness!"

Shinsou watched, clearly amused at the scene as Natsume's glare got even more intense. Mikan tugged at the cat ears, "Cat ears, cat ears!" Natsume flicked Mikan's forehead, causing her to grab it as she asked, "Hey, what was that for?"

"Don't ever call a guy 'cute'."

"Unless he wants you to," Shinsou interrupted.

"That aside, you and Shinsou have to get changed too."

"Oh right," Shinsou said, "Where's the costume?"

"Wait, huh? Me?" Mikan asked.

"Oi, Naru," Natsume pointed at Mikan, "She'll play the prince, got it?"

Shinsou wasn't very good at performing or anything to do with the public in general, so he was a bit concerned. He cursed at not protesting this earlier.

"Oh, that's such a nice idea! This is okay with you, right, Yuri?" Narumi asked.

"Yeah," Yuri said, "I can't go on stage like this so…"

"Me? P-prince? That's insane!" Mikan protested, "I can't be a prince!"

"Quit complaining, there's not much time left," Natsume said, "Hurry up, get dressed and do a quick run through with Ruka."

"Ruka-pyon?"

"Oh yeah, isn't he Snow White? Mikan, you have lines with Snow White," Shinsou said.

"But this is all so sudden…" Mikan looked worried.

"Like this isn't sudden for everyone else?" Natsume said.

Shinsou then realized that yes, yes it is. He had to do his best. The actors —the ones that were actually looking forward to performing— can't perform. He has to do his best to honor the fact that they worked hard for this performance.

Mikan sighed, accepting her fate.

* * *

Shinsou was nervous. He had spent the last half hour memorizing and going over his lines, when he'd walk on stage etc… The Somatic Class really worked hard for this… they must be devastated at the sudden change.

He knows that he would be. Imagine working so hard on something then have to change it last minute for something you had no control over? Shinsou knows from experience, that sucks.

Shinsou had a bit of stage fright, but he couldn't back out now. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and looked around. He didn't spot Mikan, but he saw Hotaru. Hotaru gave a small wave before she continued working.

From backstage, he could see the curtain rise, three people on the stage.

"A long time ago, in a kingdom, far, far away… there was a beautiful princess living in a castle, surrounded by briars."

Shinsou nervously played with the cup of his shirt as he paid attention to the play.

" A curse was placed on the princess since she was born. "

Then Shinsou spotted Mikan. Mikan was looking at the play, clearly worried.

"Thus, people called her Sleeping Beauty."

"Geez, why aren't there any good-looking guys here?" 'Sleeping Beauty' (Sumire Syōda/Permy) said.

Her briars sobbed dramatically.

Sumire scoffed, "Sheesh, it's so boring here!"

Shinsou watched as she smelled something. Oh no… her cat ears and whiskers popped out as Sumire went running towards the audience, in search of food.

"Hey, you have food, don't you?" Sumire said, "You sure have some nerve!"

She shook the person violently, "I said, take out the food!"

Shinsou winced, There goes the original script…

"Meanwhile, in the East Castle, the prince and Snow White had an encounter."

Shinsou knew who was up now, Mikan… He couldn't really see the scene well, but he definitely heard it.

"My, such beautiful flowers!" Ruka said.

"N-no," Mikan stuttered, "They pale in comparison to your beauty. B-but, please accept them!"

After her part, Mikan was pretty bummed.

"I'm no good after all," Mikan sighed.

"It's okay, you tried your best," Shinsou said to her, "You'll do better if you ever decide to do it again."

Ruka then added, "Plus, that's not true! You did well!"

"But the audience came to see Yuri," Mikan frowned.

"The performance will still be a success without her," Shinsou tried to lighten Mikan up, "Don't worry."

"You're right, thanks," Mikan smiled and cracked one of her famous jokes, which had her and Ruka laughing while Shinsou was smiling.

The play continued.

Ruka was on stage, "Okay everyone! Let's sing together!" Animals appeared and started singing, "Lalalalala, lalalalala, another day in the forest~!"

"As our song echoes throughout the woods~!"

"lalalala, lalalala," They chorused

The scene changed and this time Sumire was talking to someone. "So this Snow White charmed my prince, huh? Let's ask Mirror who's better!"

She walked over to the mirror, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

Kokoroyomi and Kitsuneme appeared in the mirror. Kokoroyomi said, "Not you, that's for sure."

Yikes, Shinsou though when he heard it. He heard the sensation of glass shattering. Did she just break the mirror?

"Snow White?! Kill her! Kill her I say!" Sumire exclaimed.

Shinsou gulped as the set changed. It was his turn. He took light and graceful steps towards the stage. He prevented himself from looking at the audience since that'll increase his nervousness.

Taking a deep breath he said, "I'm the hunter with Cupid's bow!" Shinsou turned a bit so they would see the bow fastened to his back. He then grinned _(or he tried to, he doesn't know if he did it correctly_), "Just kidding, of course. My job is to stab this arrow into Snow White's heart!"

"My! Who might you be?" Ruka asked, appearing on stage.

Shinsou forced himself to jump and act surprised. "I'm under Sleeping Beauty's orders but, how can I kill such a beautiful lady like you?"

Shinsou internally cringed. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. Shinsou saw as Ruka flashed a look of confusion before playing it off and saying his lines, "Kill?"

Ruka gasped, "Just who are you? How dare you do something so rude!"

Yes, because killing is only rude. Totally not unethical and more, Shinsou sarcastically thought.

"He's my subject and you're going to die here!" Sumire said from a tree. She held something up, something red and visible. "Thanks to my Super Biting Venom Poison Apple!"

_Biting_? Looking closer at it, Shinsou saw that it had a face. _Okay, I see how it can bite…_

Sumire threw it like a pokéball, "Poisonnn!"

It hit and bit Ruka. "Ahhh!"

Sumire let out a maniac cackle before noticing that someone else was coming.

Shinsou sighed in relief once he was away from the stage. Okay, that wasn't that bad.

Then something happened. It was so chaotic, Shinsou couldn't make sense of it until the audience went silent. After that, cue, a power outage.

Everyone was standing on stage and bowed as the audience clapped.

* * *

_The play today was weird_, Shinsou thought as he laid on his bed and looked at the ceiling. _Very weird_.

He reached a hand up before frowning, _I wonder if Aizawa and Eri are okay…_

Shinsou sighed and ran a hand through his hair,_ Although it's been fun,_

_I still need to save them somehow._


	15. Chapter 15: Alice Festival Finale

_Stay normal_, Kaminari told himself. _Don't let any of the class find out what you did. At least, not for now_.

The wikipedia article was constantly updating, and the more Kaminari read it, the more he was convinced that no, it wasn't a good thing. The wikipedia article was horrifyingly detailed, and contained different messages to decode.

What terrified Kaminari the most is that the thing -or whoever is editing it- knew that Kaminari was keeping an eye on it. It doesn't matter if Kaminari used a VPN, incognito, a forgotten server, the dark web , the webpage always knew when and who Kaminari was.

It unnerved him.

Especially in times like these, where Kaminari was just checking it for the sake of checking it and he sees a message like,

_Kaminari, 01101000 01100101 01101100 01110000._

_h e l p_

Is it Shinsou sending these messages? Or someone else? Is someone after Kaminari? Is he the next one that's getting kidnapped or something? Does this somehow connect to what happened with Aizawa-

Aizawa-sensei… he has a wikipedia page too. Kaminari closed the Shinsou wiki, quickly heading for Aizawa's until a voice stumbled him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Denks, what'cha checkin' out there?" Sero asked, looking over his shoulder.

Kaminari suddenly felt horribly self-conscious, even if he wasn't doing anything crimitory. "Uh," He swallowed uncomfortably as he looked for a lie, "Just checking out the newest heroes…" He discreetly pressed on a bookmark that took him to a new hero that recently debuted named '_Persona_'. "See?"

"Oh yeah, him," Sero said, "He's mysterious, ain't he?"

Something about Persona doesn't seem right to Kaminari. It's so obvious even from the wikipedia that it has Kaminari smiling a bit too tightly as he responds, "Yeah, totally."

Looking down on the wikipedia, Kaminari sees a message that makes his heart drop.

_01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111._

_ o_

Yeah, something about Persona doesn't seem right to Kaminari.

* * *

Shinsou has missions directly after the festival. He realized that quite a while ago, and sighed._ Goodbye the fun times I've had_.

The thing is that Shinsou can't even protest because of Persona's way too tight grip on Mikan, Eri and Aizawa. It's making everything increasingly harder. If anything, it's showing Shinsou that villains stop at no qualms to get what they want. Yes, he already knew this before but relearning it all because of a situation that happened because he was too careless was absolutely sickening.

He'd enjoy beating in Persona's face, and the dumb villain's that sent him here when he finds a way to make it back to his world.

Which Hitoshi thinks, is unfortunately not going to happen for a pretty long time. It's not that he's losing hope, definitely not, but-

He sees no solution in sight and that's probably going to stay like that until he either takes Aizawa and Eri and escapes from the academy, or he finds someone with a portal alice.

And Hitoshi's luck has made it so that none of those options are coming soon.

He was startled out of his thoughts by Mikan's exclaimation.

"Amazing, amazing, look look!" Mikan grinned as she looked at the parade floats passing by, "Aren't they so cool?"

"Yeah," Kokoroyomi agreed, "They are!"

"Too bad we're so far away though," Mikan frowned.

"At least we can see it," Shinsou said, "Plus this is a good view too."

"Yeah, if we wanted a really good spot, we'd have to camp out yesterday for it," Kokoroyomi adds, "And I don't feel like having a tent with me."

Hitoshi questioned, "Yesterday? Just for a good spot? That's tough."

Then Imai came down with a weird swan-like invention.

"Imai-san…"

Okay, I'll give you that, Imai, that was really smart, Shinsou stared at the swan, "Nice."

Anna smiled, "She's someone who gets a good spot no matter when they show up."

Nonoko smiled tightly, "And she's one of our friends too…"

Mikan scowled as Imai flew away from them, "Hotaru! Sharing is caring, you know?"

"I don't think she's going to hear you," said Hitoshi.

* * *

Mikan was fuming, "Hotaru… I swear when she gets back…"

Hitoshi, Mikan, Nonoko and Anna walked in on a bunch of girls surrounding where Natsume and Ruka sit.

"Ruka… will you and I…?"

"Natsume-kun, can I…?"

Shinsou was clearly unimpressed, and luckily, he wasn't the only one. Although Mikan was more confused than unimpressed.

Then the girls began arguing, which was quickly put to a stop by Sumire. "I'm the president of the Natsume and Ruka fanclub, how dare you go behind my back and-"

The girls ignored her and pushed Sumire out of the way. Sumire fell harshly onto the floor.

Hitoshi hid a wince, _Dang… these girls are some hardcore fangirls…_

And finally, Mikan has the courage to point and ask, "What's going on?" The two 'new' students turned to Anna and Nonoko to answer their question.

Anna got the message and answered, "They're making their last dance requests."

"'Last dance'?" Mikan asked.

"You don't know about it, Mikan?" Nonoko said.

_Of course she does, because it's not like she's asking right now or anything_, Hitoshi sighed, "I don't either."

"The last dance is-" Anna stopped dramatically, "The last dance of the post-festival party!"

Yeah, I thought that's what 'last dance' meant-

Anna continued, "They say if a boy accepts a girl's request that they'll be in love forever!"

Nonoko and Anna blushed and squealed, "It's so romantic!"

Hitoshi could only raise a brow at the Disney Princess like story. Those were the types of stories you would hear back in the pre-quirk days. Hitoshi doesn't believe in soulmates or anything, so like that, he doesn't believe in this. _What would be so special about a dance that they make people fall in love?_

_Nothing._

_Exactly._

And like Hitoshi, Mikan also doesn't understand, "Love?"

"Are you going to ask someone, Mikan?" Nonoko asked, "And you, Shinsou?"

Hitoshi shook his head, "I'd rather not." He was mentally 16, he'd rather not dance with a 10-year-old.

Meanwhile Mikan seemed to consider the question, "Uhh, I guess?"

"Could it be…" Anna trailed off.

"'Could it be…?'"

Wait, what if she asks-

Natsume got up and a wave of silence fell in the classroom. Natsume and Ruka walked out the door.

Mikan watched them intently, "Natsume…"

After the two left, Mikan looked like she was going to follow, "I have to ask Ruka-pyon something…"

"Okay," Hitoshi said, "What're you waiting for? Go."

And out Mikan went.

* * *

They were all present at the closing ceremony.

"This festival was really long," Shinsou said, "Longer than I expected."

"You didn't have festivals this long at your old school?" Misaki asked.

Hitoshi paused, "Maybe one, but most of our festivals lasted a day."

"That's tough, they were so short," Misaki smiled, "At least you liked this one, right?"

Hitoshi had a ghost of a smile on his face, "Yeah, I guess I did."

"Well now, we will now begin the closing ceremony for this year's Alice Academy festival," They announced. "First, the Principals would like to say a few words."

"The principals?" Mikan asked.

Hitoshi felt a pool of dread come over him as Ando said to Mikan, "What? You haven't seen the principals?"

A kid, a teen and an adult walked onto stage.

"A kid?"

"Ssh, be quiet!" Ando whispered, "No one knows much about the principals, not even myself."

_Other than the tiny one and Persona are complete sh*ts, yeah, no one knows_, Hitoshi sighed.

Ando then added, "Just be careful not to attract attention."

Mikan's attracted plenty attention already, Hitoshi agreed, "If you attract attention, it could be bad, Mikan."

"Hey over there!" Someone addressed them.

_Crap_ , Hitoshi thought at the same time Ando had said it.

"Sakura, you again, haven't you-" It was Jinno-sensei. However someone interrupted this time, whispering something to him that got him to back off. Jinno's face slowly turned into a look of surprise, "What? That's true?" Before he walked away.

Hitoshi tensed at that, wondering what they were talking about. Ando and Mikan were confused, but Ando was the only one that voiced it, "Huh? What was that?"

"And now, we shall announce this year's awards," The announcer said. "The first prize goes to the winner of the festival, which this year is…"

A low drumroll started as everyone tensed in preparation. "This year's winner is...the Technical Type class!"

"That's Hotaru's class!" Mikan exclaimed.

"We should congratulate Imai later then," Hitoshi noted.

The technical class roared in victory. They were clearly elated at their win. The representatives of the class were on stage, receiving their prize as someone announced it.

"Ten thousand rabbits? Imagine how much howalon you could buy with that?" Mikan grinned.

Hitoshi rolled his eyes in fond amusement, Of course only you think of that, Mikan.

* * *

Hitoshi couldn't believe his ears. _What_?

"We got an award?" Mikan asked, her mouth slightly agape.

Ando grinned, "We're being recognized."

Misaki smiled, "For our attraction and all our hard work!"

"Everyone recognized…" Mikan stared, unbelieving.

Hitoshi let out a small smile. Everyone in the Special Ability class had worked so hard, and they finally got their recognition. Hitoshi watched the news sink into Mikan's brain…

"We did it!" She jumped up and down, cheering, "We actually- we did it!"

"I can't believe it," Hitoshi said, "We really pulled it off…"

Ando smiled at him, "Better start believing then." He then glanced at Mikan, "Talk about a delayed reaction…"

"She's a bit airheaded, isn't she?" Misaki said.

Hitoshi held back a snort, "A little? More like very."

"But we wouldn't have won without her, that's for sure," Ando said.

Hitoshi nodded in agreement, "We wouldn't have."

Mikan went on stage with the others to receive the reward. To Hitoshi, Mikan was positively glowing.

A sad smile soon replaced his current one, a feeling of bitter homesickness being the cause. _I hope I can return home soon…_

_Soon…_

* * *

Mikan finally got her grandfather's letter, and Hitoshi would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous. Class 2-A had become his family, but Hitoshi won't be getting anything from them anytime soon.

However, he was mature enough to push down his jealously, he was happy for Mikan.

Mikan was so happy that she was moved to tears.

Hitoshi smiled at the sight.

* * *

The elementary school girls were dressed as angels and the middle school girls as fairies, Hitoshi noticed. He, like many other boys was in a tuxedo, just vibing away from the other people.

When Mikan and Imai came, he greeted them, "Hi Mikan, Imai." Hitoshi looked at their outfits, "You guys look nice."

Mikan smiled nervously, "Really? It's kind of embarrassing…"

Anna and Nonoko went to chase after a teacher, which had Hitoshi internally cringing.

"Wow, everyone's really giving it their all," Mikan commented, "Is it really that important?"

Hitoshi shrugged, "I don't think so. You shouldn't be restrained by a dance if you really like the person. If you really like someone, I just say go for it."

Mikan blushed, "Thanks, Hitoshi."

* * *

The three of them _(Mikan, Hotaru and Hitoshi_) were seated at a table.

"Hey, what do you think, Hotaru?" Mikan asked, frowning, "I don't get this like and love stuff."

Shinsou slurped on his juice when Imai just blankly stared at her.

"Do you think I'm a child for not knowing?"

Well, you are a child, are you not? Hitoshi ignored the way too many requests from grown men coming to Imai. It was starting to irk him though, but he was mainly disgusted.

Imai, luckily, did the same thing as Hitoshi, which Mikan commented on, "You really just ignore it, don't you, Hotaru?"

Hitoshi hummed while Imai ate her crabs. She picked on up and asked them, "Do you want some?"

"No thanks," Hitoshi answered.

"Nevermind…" Mikan said.

Hitoshi's attention was stolen by the middle school girls that currently seemed to be assaulting Ruka and Natsume. A comment must've set Ruka off because all of a sudden Ruka was very defensive.

Mikan got up and walked towards them, Hitoshi didn't bother following her. It was quite a scene, Hitoshi mused. Watching Mikan yell something out and then Sumire chase some girls off was amusing to him, for unknown reasons. Where it really got concerning was when Natsume pushed Ruka so hard that he fell onto Mikan.

However that was quickly 'swept under the rug' when Hitoshi saw them talking. He also saw Natsume glaring at them from afar.

Hitoshi got up. _I wonder what's wrong with Natsume…_

* * *

It was a while before Hitoshi found Natsume. Although along the way he saw Ruka and Mikan dancing, all Hitoshi did was wish them luck.

"Natsume, are you okay?" Hitoshi would've never thought he would be asking Natsume out of all people this question, but even Mikan has started noticing that something's wrong. Those are some real red flags.

_Plus, isn't he supposed to be a hero_? Hitoshi might as well help more people than just Aizawa, Eri or Mikan while he's here.

Natsume glared at him, "What is it to you?"

Hitoshi frowned, "I was just asking, no need to get all hostile on me, jeez."

Natsume looked up at him, "Why do you care anyway?"

"This is about Mikan, isn't it?" Hitoshi interrupted, "I saw how pissed you were when Ruka was exposed."

"It's not about Mikan!" A fire lit up in Natsume's palm.

**"Put the fire out and snap out of my brainwashing,** " Hitoshi ordered, "It wasn't a good idea to start a fire in a forest. "

Natsume didn't reply.

"Listen, if it is about Mikan, it's not like I'm going to say anything to her," Hitoshi turned around to walk away,

"She'll find out, anyway."

The fireworks started a bit after that.

* * *

"This is the end of the festival! The last dance has started!" The announcement rang throughout the field.

Hitoshi was with Anna and Nonoko before they saw Mikan walk to them.

From the bright red on Mikan's face, Hitoshi immediately knew what happened. _Natsume_.

"Mikan? You're all red," Anna pointed out the obvious.

"Have you chosen a partner?" Nonoko asked, "It seems like you have."

Mikan was clearly dazed, this is when Hitoshi thought it'd be useful to have Kokoroyomi's alice. If only he knew what Mikan was thinking.

"Did you get a partner, Mikan?" Nonoko asked again.

Mikan said, "No, no yet." She seemed to be internally debating with herself, Hitoshi could see the fire and hesitance residing in her eyes. Before she broke, "Ahhh, I feel like I'm going bonkers!" She ran back and forth.

"Calm down, Mikan," Hitoshi said, "You'll find someone."

_If he accepts you._

* * *

"Next… the rookie award winner, Hotaru Imai will pick!" The person announced, "She picked Mikan Sakura!"

Anna, Nonoko and Hitoshi started laughing at Mikan's face of pure confusion.

"Of course Imai would do that," Hitoshi smiled.

* * *

The last dance started. Mikan had accepted Hotaru and now they were dancing. Hitoshi stood and watched from the sidelines. Instead of watching the dance floor, Hitoshi turned to watch the fireworks.

_Eri would've loved to see the fireworks_…

"Two girls?" Anna asked.

"Can they really do that?" Nonoko wondered.

"There was no rule against it," Hitoshi shrugged.

_All of us would've loved to see the fireworks…_

_...Together…._


End file.
